Save Yourself
by Sylarfan
Summary: Sylar/OC With Peter & Noah running a new organization, they need Sylar to experiment on. Will he comply to their demands when they abduct his new found lover and risk losing all his power? Rated M for language/adult relations/some violence
1. Creep

This is my first writing attempt. Hope you enjoy.

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Creep

Returning from her evening run, Catherine started up the concrete steps to her apartment building. As she reached for the door something caught her eye on the street. It was an old Ford pick up. Alarric's, she was sure. Straining to see through the twilight, she couldn't quite make out the figure in the drivers seat. Her face still turned toward the street, she pulled the door open and took a step inside the building. She collided with someone and they both stumbled. He grabbed her by her arms in an attempt to keep her upright.

"Oh, crap! I'm so sorry." she said looking up at him, feeling embarrassed by her clumsiness.

He stared at her, eyes dancing over her face, searching for something. Still gripping her arms, his dark brown eyes now fixed on hers. Her embarrassment was then replaced by annoyance.

"Look, I'm sorry for crashing into you like that," she repeated stepping backwards out of his clutches.

"No need to apologize," he replied with a casual tone. He grinned and walked out the door. She caught the door to take another glance at the old Ford, but it was gone. Her dark eyed neighbor turned to look back at her just over his shoulder, then glanced in the direction were she was looking. Catherine didn't notice.

Catherine and Sophie weren't 'best' friends but she was Catherine's only friend really. Catherine lived on the first floor, Sophie on the fourth. When Sophie moved in, Catherine took her under her wing you could say. Being just twenty one, it was Sophie's first time living on her own. Catherine being much older and just had gotten out of a bad marriage, was in a way just starting out herself. At least, starting a new chapter anyway. She got along with Sophie but she didn't always like her. Sophie was petite and beautiful and her personality reflected that she was quite aware of it. But, she was also fun to be around a lot of the time, so Catherine tolerated her. Besides, she really didn't know a lot of people in this town.

"So what's up with the new guy on the second floor?" Catherine asked as she diced up onions for dinner. Cooking was a hobby of hers and it was a plus that she had someone to cook for.

Sophie shrugged. "I don't know. Seems creepy."

"Creepy? Why do you say that?"

Sophie looked annoyed. "I got some of his mail by mistake and when I took it down to him, he just…" She stopped, scrunching up her face and rolling her eyes at the memory.

Catherine turned her attention to Sophie. "He just what?" She encouraged.

"I dunno. He just stared at me. Then he said 'Thanks' and shut the door in my face." She flipped her long black curls over her shoulder. "Creepy."

"He did the same thing to me." Catherine turned back to her chopping. "When I ran into him on the steps outside."

"What do you mean?" Sophie asked. Obviously very excited to hear some new gossip.

"Well, he stared at me. Hard, ya know? Like he was studying me or something." She paused in thought. "But, he didn't really give me the creeps. I guess he probably should have, but he didn't."

After dinner the two took their glasses of wine out on the front steps of the apartment building so that Sophie could have a cigarette. It was a warm night. There was a soft breeze and a lingering smell of freshly mowed grass.

Sophie took out a cigarette and put it to her glossy red lips. She lifted her other hand and snapped her fingers. A small flame sparked at her fingertips as she lit her cigarette. Spreading her fingers apart the flame disappeared. It seemed like everyone Catherine knew had some kind of "special ability". Ever sense the young women by the name of Claire Bennet came out to the world so to speak.

Sophie's phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at it. "It's David!" she said with a giddiness that made Catherine want to gag.

Sophie turned to lean on the railing and talk to her crush. Catherine took a seat on the steps and sipped her wine enjoying the beautiful evening. She noticed a dark figure coming down the sidewalk wearing a black ball cap. As he walked under the nearest street light she could make out his features. Strong jaw, thick eyebrows, full lips. She couldn't deny that she found this man attractive. He turned to ascend the steps. Catherine stood to allow him to pass. Sophie just gave him a snotty look over her shoulder, still talking to David. He glared at her. She could see why Sophie thought he was creepy now. He turned to Catherine arching an eyebrow and giving her a charming smile. He spoke in a low, soft voice, "Good evening ladies."

Catherine smiled back at him, "Hi." was all she could muster.

Catherine started collecting antiques in her early twenties. She had a pretty good collection going. It started with her grandmother leaving her a few beautiful items when she had passed. From there it just grew. A few days after she and Sophie had dinner at her place, she purchased an antique trunk. She didn't really plan out how she was going to get it up the concrete steps to her first floor apartment. Amazingly enough, she had managed to get it almost to the entrance of the building without damaging the thing.

Coming up the sidewalk was the dark eyed neighbor. He saw her struggling with the trunk and slowed his pace a bit. He watched as she bent over, noticing her almost perfectly shaped legs and hips. She was slender and tone. He stopped behind her, his eyes wondering over her backside.

"You need a hand?" He asked.

She jumped, startled by his voice. "Uh, yeah. That'd be great." She huffed, slightly out of breath.

He grabbed the trunk from the lowest end and together they made it into her apartment. They positioned it in the center of the living room in front of the sofa. She had wanted to use it as a coffee table.

It wasn't a very hot day, but the task had them sweating. He had no ball cap this time. He was wearing a thin, blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of dark jeans. He unbuttoned his shirt just a few buttons. Enough to expose the small patch of hair on his chest. He still had dark stubble on his face which Catherine found quite sexy. She found herself wondering what he looked like without that shirt on.

She turned and walked into the kitchen. "Can I get you a drink? I've got iced tea, water, diet Pepsi…"

He answered, "Water please."

She took two bottles of water out of the fridge and handed one to the dark eyed man. Realizing they hadn't yet introduced themselves, she extended her hand to offer a handshake. "Catherine Monroe. And please, don't call me Cathy."

He put his hand in hers and shook it. "Gabriel Gray. And please," He chuckled, "don't call me Gabe."

They both smiled. Then he took a sip from the water bottle and scanned the room. "Antique collector?" He asked raising one thick eyebrow.

"Yes." Catherine replied a little surprised. Dark, mysterious, coming to her aid in a time of need and an eye for antiques?

"This is a beautiful piece." He said, pointing to a wooden clock hanging on the wall. "How long has it been broken?"

"Since my grandmother gave it to me before she died. I looked into having it fixed once but it was a bit too pricey for me at the time." She explained.

He studied the clock in silence a few more moments and than said, "I can fix it if you'd like."

Catherine looked at him with obvious confusion.

"I'm a time piece restorer." He explained. "It would be no problem."

"Wow. Okay." She agreed. "That would be awesome."

He reached for the clock. She watched him, her heart thumping with excitement. She was very much attracted to this man. Not only was he her age, but he was tall. At least six one she thought. Standing at almost five feet nine, she always had trouble landing dates. She was sure a lot had to do with her height. But, it was his eyes that did her in. The way he looked at her made her swoon like a school girl. It had been a long time sense anyone had made her feel that way.

"Thank you for helping me with this trunk by the way." she said trying to redirect her thoughts.

"What are neighbors for?" He said.

He took a step toward her and stole an obvious glance down at her breasts which were displayed beautifully in her v-neck cotton tee shirt. "I should be going." He almost whispered as he stepped even closer to her. Close enough that all he would have to do is lean in and take her mouth with his own.

Then, there was a sharp rap at the door. Catherine jumped at the sudden interruption. Gabriel however remained perfectly still, never taking his eyes off of hers.

"I should get that." She said as she walked to the door, Gabriel's eyes following her.

She opened the door to find Sophie standing there with her cell phone to her ear as usual. She looked up at Catherine smiling. Then her eyes shot to Gabriel and her smile faded. "I'll call you back." she

said into her cell phone and snapped it shut.

"Uh" Catherine began, "Sophie this is Gabriel. Gabriel, Sophie."

"Yes, we've meet." He looked down at her with a grin. He looked back at Catherine and held up the clock. "I'll see you soon." he said and walked up the stairs to his apartment.

Sophie pushed her way inside. "Oh my god, Catherine!" Sophie's voice was a little louder than necessary. "Are you crazy? You let that creep into your home?"

Catherine looked at her in dismay. "Yes! I did! He helped me bring that trunk in here and he offered to fix my grandmother's clock. What's the problem?"

"The problem is you don't know him. He could have some weird power." Sophie said with her hand on a hip, her crystal blue eyes burning.

Catherine laughed out loud, then looked at her with all humor gone from her face. "Look Sophie, I appreciate you being concerned about me, but I'm ten years older then you and …."

"Nine, you're nine years older." Sophie cut her off to correct her.

Catherine huffed, "Whatever. The point is you have no idea how hard it is to meet people after a divorce." She waited for her retort.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Sophie finally said, "Well, I had just come by to tell you I have to work tonight. They asked me to come in. So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow sometime?"

"Yeah, maybe. Just call me or whatever." Catherine really didn't want to see her again so soon.

While Catherine made dinner for herself, she couldn't stop thinking about Gabriel. She really wanted to go up to his apartment and invite him to have dinner with her, but she of course didn't. She didn't want to ruin any chance she had by seeming too eager.

After she ate she sat down with a book. It was about ten o'clock when there was a knock at the door. She knew Sophie wouldn't be off work yet. Did Gabriel have her clock fixed already? She got up and looked out her peep hole. It was Alarric.

Catherine sighed and rolled her eyes. 'Why can't he just leave me alone?' She thought. He knocked again. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

"What do you want, Alarric?" she asked sharply.

He looked at her pleadingly. "I just want to talk to you."

"There is nothing left to talk about." She said looking down at him, rain dripping from his blond hair. That was one positive thing about Alarric, he wasn't insecure about being with a women that was taller than he was.

"Could I please come in?" He asked.

She stepped aside and opened the door wider to allow him inside. As he passed her she caught a whiff of alcohol. He'd been drinking. He was suppose to have been sober these days. Now she was worried.

"Don't get too comfortable, you're not staying long." She was annoyed. She walked out of the room and returned with a towel. He wiped his face and patted his hair with it. "Thanks."

He sat down on the sofa. Catherine stood with her arms crossed, glaring at him. He kicked his shoes off and propped his feet up on the trunk. He took in the image of her and Gabriel bringing in the trunk. He stored the information away in his mind.

"I just told you not to get too comfortable." She spat out.

He jumped to his feet and marched toward her. She grabbed her purse, pulled out her pepper spray and held it at arms length. "DON'T!" she yelled, "come any closer." She brought her voice back down. A drunk, angry Alarric was not a pleasant person to be around. She wished she hadn't let him in and made a mental note never too again, no matter how dripping wet and pathetic he might look.

He put his hands up, "I just want to talk."

"I don't." She snapped. "Now please leave, Alarric."

He didn't move.

"LEAVE!" she yelled.

Then he did.


	2. Would It Make A Difference

Would it Make a Difference?

Several days later, Catherine was at her apartment door fumbling with her keys, when she heard a calm, deep voice behind her. "Hello, Catherine."

It was Gabriel. She hadn't heard him approach. "I've fixed your clock," he said in an almost business like manner. "I can bring it down for you now if you'd like."

"Great, how much do I owe you?" she asked.

He looked at her, perplexed by her question. "Nothing. It was a favor."

"Well, at least let me make dinner for you." she insisted.

He looked into her warm brown eyes. Her maple colored hair pulled back, exposing her slender neck. There was an urge to kiss it and press his body against hers. He imagined feeling her beneath him, writhing and whimpering as he fucked her into oblivion. He took a step backwards and cleared his throat. What was he doing? He hadn't felt this way about a woman since Elle and even then he had killed her anyway. But, this woman didn't have anything he wanted. Well, anything that would make him more powerful anyway. And, she didn't know about who he was. Would that be enough? He had been doing so well leading a quiet life. He was worried a passionate relationship might ruin what he had been struggling so hard for.

She took his hesitation to heart. "I wouldn't be spending any money. I already have everything I need," she said trying to make the offer seem more alluring, "I was going to cook anyway."

He smiled, "How could I resist?" and he really couldn't.

"Okay then." She returned the smile feeling relieved. "Why don't you come down about seven."

She decided to leave her work clothes on. Sleeveless blouse and a knee length skirt that fit her curves quite nicely she thought. She let her hair down and freshened her make-up.

Then, at seven o'clock sharp, he was there. 'He's prompt.' she thought. She looked threw the peep hole and saw he had a bottle in his hand. 'He brought wine too?'

She straightened her skirt and opened the door. "Hello, Gabriel. Come in."

He held out the wine, "I hope you like red." he said.

"Yes, thanks." She took the bottle.

"Your clock is now in perfect working order." He walked over to where the clock had once hung. "May I?" he asked as he gestured to the hook on the wall.

"Yes, please." she replied.

He hung the clock on the wall.

They finished eating and were still sitting at the table sipping wine.

"Thank you again for your help with the trunk and fixing the clock." She said. "My grandmother would be pleased, too, if she where alive."

"Really, I'm glad to have done it. The pleasure was mine." He said.

"So, do you have a shop?" She wondered.

"No, I used to. Now it's more of a hobby." swirling his wine glass as he spoke. "Right now I'm working at a pawn shop until I figure out what I want to do next. What about you? What do you do?"

"I'm a receptionist at a dental clinic." She explained. "Not very exciting but, it pays the bills."

He looked around her apartment for a moment and then stood. "How long have you lived alone?"

She looked up at him a little uneasy about his direct question. He noticed the concern on her face.

"I can just tell by the pictures on your wall that you haven't been living single for very long." He explained, pointing to a picture of her and Alarric snuggled up together in a picture with some friends.

"Oh, yeah," she stood up and started collecting the plates from the table. "I've been divorced for about 6 months now. We were married for almost 5 years."

"May I ask what happened?"

"Well," she ran her fingers through her hair and let out a sigh, "he was…mean," she said for lack of a better word.

"Mean?"

"Yeah, mean. He started drinking a lot and he just changed. He has an ability. It developed during our marriage and I think it had a lot to do with it."

"What is his ability?" He asked curiously.

"He's psychic, I guess you could say, but he doesn't read people, he reads objects."

"Clairsentience." He said thoughtfully.

"What?" Catherine asked, a bit taken aback by his knowledge of many things.

"I've done a little research on abilities. I find it….intriguing." That was to say the least. He also possessed the same ability. He could have kicked himself for asking how long she had lived alone. But, the images he picked up after touching the wine glass of her ex husband screaming at her, smacking her, and throwing a dinner plate against the wall, it was hard not to be curious.

He began helping her clean up. "And you? Do you have an ability?" He asked trying to redirect the conversation. He already knew she did and that she wasn't yet aware she possessed one, although he hadn't figured out what exactly it was.

"No, I don't." she picked up her wine glass and took a sip. "Do you?"

He stepped toward her, plucked the glass from her hand and sat it on the table. He pushed her hair back over her shoulder to expose her neck. He loved this area on a woman.

"You haven't answered my question." she said, beginning to feel a bit nervous. She wanted him to kiss her and feel his talented hands roaming every inch of her body.

"Would it make a difference if I did?" he asked in a soft, husky voice.

She didn't answer. He stepped even closer to her until her back was against the wall. He placed is hand on the back of her head and pulled her to his mouth. He kissed her deeply. His tongue forcing it's way passed her teeth. His ruff stubble scraping against her soft skin. He left her mouth and kissed her neck, running his tongue down to her collarbone and back up to her earlobe. He whispered in her ear. "You haven't answered my question."

His other hand tracing down the curve of her waist until he reached her beautifully shaped ass. Still kissing her eagerly, he pulled her shirt out of her skirt where it was neatly tucked, letting his hand explore until he reached her breast. He stopped and looked at her, his eyes full of lust.

"No." she replied, "no it wouldn't."

He pulled her shirt off and then began to unbutton his own. His eyes still penetrating hers. He took her arm and gently lead her toward the living room. They stopped just in front of the sofa. He removed his shirt and tossed it to the floor. He wanted this woman. Just the way she smelled was making him crazy. What fun it would be to use his abilities and make her his puppet. Make her do every dirty thing he desired. But, that wouldn't be a smart move. At least, not yet.

He took her by the waist, pulling her to him and crushing his lips against hers. They came to rest on the sofa. He slid his hands up her thighs until he had pushed her skirt up far enough for her to spread her legs apart. She could feel him hard against her. He unsnapped her bra and tossed it over his shoulder. She grabbed his thick hair and made a moaning sound in the back of her throat. He moved his mouth down her neck, grazing her skin with his tongue until he found her breasts. They both got equal attention as he squeezed and sucked and lightly nipped at her erect nipples. She could feel wet heat pooling between her legs. He kissed down her stomach and knelt between her knees. He reached up her skirt and pulled her panties off. The sight of her beautifully groomed sex was so appetizing. He licked the inside of her thigh until his tongue found her. As he licked her slick mound finding her clit, he slipped two fingers inside her forcing a deep moan out of her mouth. She lifted a leg and rested her foot on the trunk. Her tension started to build toward climax when he suddenly surfaced.

He gave her a penetrating stare that made her blush and started unbuckling his belt. His body was lean and strong. His bronzed skin shinning with perspiration. His body covered in just enough hair to compliment his rugged appearance. She couldn't help but find him sexy.

She arched her back to unzip her skirt and kicked it off. Once they were free of their clothes he gently pulled her to the floor. She let her knees fall to the sides to allow him entrance. She longed to feel him inside of her. He lowered himself and sank into her. She could feel the length of him filling her up. She wanted more of him, but he pulled out, teasing her. She struggled to pull him back inside of her. She whimpered and he gave her a mischievous grin. This is what he had imagined. This is what he had wanted. He slid back into her. She threw her arms over her head giving in to the sensation. She grabbed the handle of the trunk as he plunged deep inside of her over and over again. She could feel the friction of the carpet on her back caused by his strong thrusts.

Here she was. Letting this man she barely knew fuck her brains out on her apartment floor and she loved it. She thought she would feel like a complete slut, but it had been a long time sense she had any kind of sex. She was a flesh and blood woman that had needs and desires just like everyone else.

As her orgasm took over her body, she moaned and shuddered, pulling desperately on the handle of the trunk. Gabriel released, moaning against her neck. He rolled off of her and laid on his back next to her. Both of them out of breath.

He turned on his side to look at her. He took notice of the stud earrings she was wearing. Gold stemmed roses in bloom with a tiny diamond that sparkled in the center. He reached his hand to her face to push some strands of hair away from her eyes. As she gazed into his deep brown eyes, he leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

Catherine's phone began ringing as she took a bite of her breakfast. She quickly swallowed. "Hello?"

"Have you been avoiding me?" Sophie asked through the phone.

"No, Sophie." She lied, "I've been pretty busy."

"Busy doing what?" she asked in a doubtful tone.

"Busy…" she sighed, "I've been seeing someone." she finally admitted.

"Really? Who?" she still sounded doubtful.

Catherine was silent. She knew Sophie would think she was insane for being with the "creepy second floor" neighbor. But who was she to judge. Sophie, as young as she was, had one night stands all over the place. Catherine was an experienced, strong, mature woman. If she liked "creepy second floor" guys, then so be it.

"Gabriel." She said with confidence.

"Huh." she was quiet for a few seconds. "I'm coming down." and then she hung up.

Catherine shrugged. She was starting to grow tired of Sophie. She could really be an ungrateful bitch at times. Then there it was. Sophie's signature sharp rap at the door. Catherine opened the door and walked back to the kitchen without even glancing at Sophie. Sophie stepped in and shut the door.

"Catherine? What is wrong with you? I can't believe you would make such a juvenile decision!"

Catherine looked at her over the rim of her coffee mug as she took a sip from it.

"Oh. My. God." Sophie said. "You slept with him already didn't you?"

Catherine walked around her to the bathroom to start her make up.

"You did." Sophie went on. "You fucked him."

Catherine tossed her makeup brush into the sink and spun around. "So what!" she snapped. "I'm a grown woman. I can fuck whoever I want, whenever I want and I don't need YOU giving me shit about it." she turned back around to face the mirror.

Sophie was shocked. Catherine had never spoken to her like that before. She had always put up with her without judgment. She suddenly felt ashamed.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt after how Alarric treated you."

"Once again, thanks for your concern, but I'm a big girl." she said while looking at Sophie through the mirror.

"I know." Sophie said letting her eyes fall to the floor. "Can I grab a cup of coffee?"

"You know you don't have to ask." Catherine said returning to her usual friendly self.

Sophie came back with her mug and asked, "So, how was it?"

"How was what?"

"You know. The sex. With Gabriel."

Catherine smiled zipping up her makeup bag. "It was amazing." she said turning to face her. "It was almost like he already knew exactly how to touch me, like we've been having sex for years."

"Wow. I'm jealous." Sophie said.

"I thought he was 'creepy'." Catherine said walking out of the bathroom.

"He is. But, he is sorta hot." Sophie admitted.

Catherine was returning home from an evening jog. It was warm and a little damp from an earlier rain. She walked in her apartment, took off her head phones and stopped short with surprise. Alarric was sitting at her dining room table.

"Please don't freak out or yell." He said standing up.

Catherine remained where she was. Unmoving, waiting to see what his next move was going to be.

He started to walk towards her. She sprang for her purse, just as Alarric held up the pepper spray.

"How many times have I told you to take this with you when you jog?"

He continued to walk around the apartment. When he passed her she could smell the heavy aroma of whiskey again. She wasn't surprised, he never showed up sober. He looked at the antique clock on the wall. "When did you get your clock fixed?" he asked just to try to make conversation.

"Very recently." she answered.

"As long as you've had that thing it never worked. I always thought it was so stupid that you would even put it on the wall." He chuckled to himself. "I'm glad to see you were able to have it fixed." He

reached up and touched the clock. He thought he recognized the man from the image he got when he touched her trunk the last time he was there.

"Who fixed it?"

"I took it to an antique restoration shop."

"That's a lie." he saw the man from the image carry the clock out of her apartment and up to the second floor where he repaired it. "The clock never left this building."

He turned around and reached out to touch the trunk, wanting to confirm it had been the same man that helped her carry it. Catherine closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She knew what he was about to see. The erotic images flooded his mind. He looked at her, hurt and disgusted.

"He helps you move some furniture and fixes your clock? I see you paid him well for his services." He spat at her. "Filthy whore."

She opened her eyes, still holding her breath.

"I'm done cryin' over you. Now, you just make me sick." he said and he stormed out the door, slamming it on the way.

She let out her breath and collapsed on the sofa, thankful he opted to leave instead of getting violent.


	3. A Man With Two Names

A Man With Two Names

Alarric O'Leary was sitting at his desk finding it difficult to concentrate. He couldn't stop replaying the images he had seen at Catherine's over and over in his mind.

Noah Bennet approached his desk. "Do you have the recent report I asked for?" He asked.

Alarric looked up at him, sitting up a little straighter in his set. "No, I'll have them by the end of the day."

"What is going on with you O'Leary?" Noah asked.

Alarric worked for Noah pushing paper work and doing research. He leaned back in his chair, "I went to see Catherine again…"

"Oh, no Alarric." Noah cut him off, "I have told you to let it go."

"I can't!" Alarric said, "she's with someone already."

"Look, no one understands more than I do how hard getting over a divorce is, but I'm telling you things will get better."

"His name is Gabriel." Alarric went on as if Noah had never spoken. "He fixed her grandmothers clock and she spreads her legs for him."

Noah looked at him curiously, "What? Say that again."

"She screwed him."

"No, you said he fixed her clock?"

"Yeah, so?"

"His name is Gabriel. Are you sure?"

"That's the name I got from the images."

Noah gave him a thoughtful look and then asked, "Does the name Sylar mean anything to you?"

Alarric looked clueless, "No."

"Come into my office. I want to show you something."

Alarric watched as Noah fumbled through a couple of old file boxes, until he finally found what he was looking for. The name Gabriel Gray was typed on the file. He opened it and tossed it in front of Alarric. "Is this the man you saw her with?" he asked.

"Yeah." Alarric said in disbelief.

"We have a lot to talk about."

Catherine and Gabriel were on their way home from the pricey Italian restaurant they both loved. Catherine loved it because the atmosphere was beautiful and the food was delicious. Gabriel loved it because it was quiet, dark and easy to be secluded when you asked for a private table. Catherine drove as always because Gabriel didn't have a car. However, that never stopped him from being prompt.

When they entered the apartment building, Catherine was surprised when he took her hand and started leading her up the steps. They had been together for a few months now and she had never been inside his apartment for more than a few minutes. It was very contemporary. There was not a lot of color, mostly black, white, grey and chrome or silver. There were only a few large framed photograph-type pictures on the walls. It seemed cold and unlived in, being so clean and orderly.

"Wow." she said looking around. "Do you come here often?" she joked.

He chuckled, "Yes, everyday in fact. I just like things neat."

"You must think I'm a slob." she felt she kept a fairly clean home, but now she started to think otherwise.

"No. I like your apartment. It's warm, inviting." He said as he walked to the kitchen to fetch a bottle of wine. "That's why I have never brought you here. I prefer yours."

"Well, why the change of heart?"

He shrugged, "It's nice to have a change of pace once in a while." He handed her a glass and gestured toward his living room. He really brought her up wanting to let her see just a little more of himself. However, he wasn't ready to open up too much just yet. They sat and chatted and played a hand of cards when Gabriel pulled a small box out of the side table drawer.

"Here," he handed her the box. "Someone pawned this at the shop last week. When I saw it, I talked Otis into selling it to me before he had a chance to put it on display."

Catherine opened the box and was surprised to see a delicate gold necklace with a pendent that was a stemmed rose in bloom. A tiny diamond was in the center. It matched her earrings almost perfectly.

"Gabriel, it's beautiful!" She was in awe, she didn't know Gabriel was so observant as to notice the pendant matched her earrings. Alarric would never have done something so thoughtful. "Thank you." She kissed him. "The earrings belonged to my mother. I can't believe the luck of you coming across this."

"Belonged to your mother?" He asked pushing her hair back and touching her earlobe where the earring sat.

"My mother died a few years ago. She had a horrible virus and it just consumed her." She explained.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I have handled it and moved on." She said patting his knee.

"What about your father?" He was curious now.

"My father died when we were very young. He was a police officer and he was shot and killed in the line of duty."

"You have a sibling then?"

"Yes, an older brother. He lives in Canada with his wife and two daughters. We only talk on holidays and a few days out of the year. I haven't seen him since our mom died." She decided to take this opportunity to ask about his history.

As he clasped the necklace around her neck she asked him, "So what about your family?"

"I never really had much of a family. I was adopted. So, I have no siblings that I know of and my adoptive mother also died."

"Oh. May I ask what happened?" She asked gently.

He hesitated, not sure if he wanted to lie. He settled on half of the truth. "She was murdered. It's kind of a difficult subject for me to talk about." He hoped that they could leave the conversation at that.

"I understand." She said realizing he didn't want the conversation to go any further. Then she stood. "So, do I get to see your bedroom?" She thought the mood should take a more pleasant turn, plus asking this question in his home felt strangely naughty.

"Feel free." he said, pointing his thumb in the direction down the hall, not moving from his place on the sofa. She smiled and walked toward the bedroom feeling a little rejected.

She flipped the light on. His room was in coordination with the rest of the apartment. He had a king size bed which looked huge in comparison to her queen. His whole apartment reminded her of pictures you would see in a modern furniture magazine.

"Why are you not naked and draped across my bed?" he said from right behind her. It startled her. She never heard him approach. That seemed to happen a lot. "Let's see what we can do to change that." He leaned in and kissed the curve where her shoulder meets her neck. It sent a tingling sensation down her arms and back. His left hand wandered up her shirt to her breast while his right hand slid around her waist to her smooth stomach. He pulled her against him, pressing his arousal against her ass. His tongue trailed up her neck to her ear as his hand made it's way down into her pants. His fingers explored her until they found their way to her wet hole. He pushed two fingers deep inside her, breathing heavy into her ear. She was delighted. From the way he had acted just moments before, she didn't think she was going to have him tonight.

He turned her around to face him. He pulled her tight against his body as he took her into another of his deep and lustful kisses. He set her on fire in a way no one had ever done before. She ran her fingers through his thick dark hair as he walked her backwards towards the bed. They both began removing each others clothes with urgency. The back of her knees finally came in contact with the mattress. He pulled his mouth away from hers, put his hands on her shoulders and shoved her onto her back on the bed. The force of it took her by surprise, but it excited her. She shimmied further onto the bed, Gabriel following her and crawled between her legs, laying himself on top of her, giving her another forceful kiss.

She made a movement that rolled him onto his back. She sat up and dragged her fingers down his chest and over his flat stomach. His body was beautiful, she was almost jealous. She slid her wetness up and down his shaft. The throbbing ache between her legs was too much to bare. She slowly lowered herself down onto him, taking all of him in. She closed her eyes enjoying the sensation of his thick cock inside of her. He grabbed her hips and thrust deeper into her. He tried to reverse their position but she fought for control. His movements grew stronger, it was interfering with her rhythm. She grew impatient and pushed his arms away from her body. He brought them back to her hips holding her tight, thinking it was a game. She threw his arms away from her again and slapped the side of his head causing his hair to fall over one eye, "Stop!" she demanded, "I'm in control here."

He starred at her with an expression she couldn't quite read. Was he angry? Shocked? Turned on? She thought he might find her aggressiveness appealing. Maybe she thought wrong.

He contemplated her demand and decided to let her have control, for now. "So it appears." He said slyly and put his hands up in surrender. Although, Sylar preferred to be dominative in bed, it was nice to have a change of pace once in a while. He was astounded at that thought, he hadn't thought of himself as 'Sylar' in a long time.

She put her hands on his chest and road him in a steady and even pace. Her breathing became heavier as her pleasure increased. Her movements grew stronger. She sat up right throwing her head back, grinding down onto him as she came close to orgasm.

He watched her as she came. She was glorious in this moment. Her wonderfully feminine shape glistening with sweat. The sound escaping her throat was a pleasure all its own. She was lovely.

In one quick motion, he flipped their position and came crashing down into her. Each thrust forcing the very breath out of her. She was happy to have him in control again. She had gotten her way, now he could have his. Besides, she liked their games.

She spread her legs wide, reaching her hands around his backside in attempt to pull every inch of him into her. It didn't take long for him to reach his climax and as he did, she found herself coming again. He kissed her, moaning into her mouth, then collapsed on top of her.

The next morning while Gabriel was cooking breakfast, Catherine had just finished her shower and was getting dressed. She walked over to Gabriel's dresser to look at herself in the mirror. She noticed a long, rectangular, wooden box on the dresser. She opened it. Inside was a watch. The crystal was cracked and it didn't work. 'Interesting', she thought. There was still a lot about Gabriel she didn't know. She knew there were things he wasn't telling her.

She walked into the kitchen holding the watch. "Sylar?"

He looked up from the eggs he was beating in surprise. "What did you call me?"

"I didn't call you anything," she looked at him, bewildered. "I read the name off your old watch." and she held it up to show him.

He shoved the bowl and whisk away from himself and snatched the watch out of her fingers. "What are you doing going through my things?" he asked in a quiet, but irritated voice. He walked back to the bedroom. She followed.

"I'm sorry. I just saw the box and I…I didn't think it would be an issue…"She gave him a quick glance and then away again. "It's just a broken watch." she said questioning his reaction.

He put the watch back in the box and replaced the lid. "It's fine. Don't worry about it." He turned his head toward her but didn't meet her eyes. "Let's eat some breakfast, I know you're hungry and so am I." He said trying to imply that that was the reason for the tiff. She knew better.

"You know you never did tell me whether or not you have an ability." Catherine said taking a bite of omelet hoping like hell she hadn't put her foot in her mouth again.

"No?" he asked as if he didn't remember.

"No."

"As I recall, you said it didn't make a difference." he reminded her.

"It doesn't, but I would still like to know. I mean, we're dating, we're fucking, we're having breakfast." She waved a hand over the table trying to further prove her point. "I'm sorry that I'd like to know more about you."

He thought about what she had said for a few minutes. She was right. She did deserve to know more. He cared for her more then he had cared about anyone in his life. He even thought he might be falling in love with her. He had been wanting to tell her more, tell her about who he really was, the things he had done, the things he could do. But, how do you tell someone that kind of information without them running away screaming.

"Yes. I have…" he paused for a brief moment, "an ability."

She raised her eyebrows, "What is it?" she looked worried. He supposed she had good reason to, given Alarric and all.

"Intuitive aptitude."

She shock her head, "What?"

"I have an understanding of how things work and how to fix them without ever having prior knowledge."

She looked relieved, then smiled, "So, that explains how you're such an amazing lover." She joked.

He cocked an eyebrow and grinned, "It is quite a useful ability."

Her expression turned more thoughtful then, "Well, can I ask why you haven't fixed the Sylar watch?"

He looked at her in much the same way he had looked at her when she smacked his head the night before. She wondered why she kept pushing her luck.

"It's a very old piece," he explained, "a little older than your grandmothers clock. It's German made, 1917, designed after a Russian model. It took me seven years to repair it. One day, it just clicked. I finally knew what I had been doing wrong." His eyes looking past her at nothing. "When my ability finally manifested, I suppose." Coming back from his daze he looked at her again and continued.

"That watch marks a major turning point in my life. I haven't fixed it because it's a reminder of who I am, or was anyway. It means more to be broken. I don't expect you to understand."

"Was it seven to midnight or noon when it broke?" she asked.

The memory of himself killing Chandra Suresh with his bare hands came rushing back to him. The watch smashing against the window of the car in the struggle. "It was seven minutes to midnight." he answered.

She didn't ask how the watch broke. The expression on his face told her that maybe she didn't want to know.


	4. Safe Haven

Safe Haven

The founder and front runner of the organization that Noah worked for was Peter Petrelli. After his niece had so dramatically thrown herself off the Ferris wheel in front of the world, Peter had to do something to stop some of the mayhem that ensued afterwards. Noah of course was at his side. Aside from his mother Angela, Noah has been the biggest contributor to the ideas of his organization.

People of course at first were in awe of 'specials' until they found out about some of the people with potentially dangerous abilities. Noah Bennet had been right in predicting the outcome of society's reactions and although it wasn't quite as bad as he had expected, he still believed things would get worse. That had a lot to do with the reason he and Claire hardly spoke to each other. He wasn't even sure were she was living anymore.

With the family name, Angela and Peter had no trouble getting funding to run the organization. It was similar to The Company but minus the 'bag and tag' and the 'one of us, one of them'. Now it was common knowledge of their existence. No one had to lie about their job. No one had to be brought in against their will, unless they were a danger to themselves or others. A lot of 'specials' came to them on their own accord. The organization offered counseling, medical attention and support for people with abilities and their families. They even help them in job placement. Noah happens to be head of the job placement program. They help those who don't understand how to use or control their abilities. It was a safe place for them to turn to when half of the world had turned against them. A safe haven. Which is what Peter had decided to call his organization.

Alarric walked into Noah's office without knocking, with Sylar's file in his hand. "We need to warn Catherine, let her know who she's gotten involved with."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'll have to call you back." He said into his desk phone looking at Alarric. "Yep, that'd be fine. Thank you." he hung up.

"No. We can't do that." Noah insisted.

"What? Why the hell not?" Alarric was obviously surprised at Noah's response.

"I have been trying to figure out a way to get Sylar in here for almost a year. And now, I finally have one."

"Wait." Alarric shook his head and rubbed his eyes, "Are you telling me you plan to use her as bait to lure him here?"

Noah nodded.

"You're a prick, you know that?" Alarric said.

"I've been told." Noah had a reputation of lying, not following rules and putting people at risk when he had an agenda, which had ultimately ruined his life. He told himself he would try to change. Obviously he wasn't trying too hard. "I know it seems a bit risky, but it's the only thing I haven't tried."

Alarric still held the file. "Why do you even need him here? He's reformed by what this says, and he hasn't been a threat to anyone since he helped Peter bring down that Samuel guy."

"All the same reasons Catherine doesn't need to know who she's really involved with." Noah said confidently.

"He could snap! He's a fucking psychopath! He can't just suddenly be stable…" he stopped short realizing what he was saying.

"Exactly." Noah smiled.

Alarric still held the file. "No. I'm not gonna let you do this. I'm not gonna let you bring her into this." He turned and stormed out of his office.

Noah didn't bother to go after him. He didn't want to start a scene at work. He would have to make his move as quickly as possible before Alarric talked Catherine into leaving Sylar, if he could. He needed them to trust each other if this was going to work.

Peter Petrelli was on a conference call with Mohinder Suresh. Ever since the coming out of Claire Bennet, Mohinder decided to lend his brilliant mind in anyway he could to help Peter's cause. Among other things, he had returned to his project in finding a way to free people of their abilities. There were some mentally challenged people that would never be able to understand how to control their abilities, children who didn't understand the importance of controlling them, people like Hiro who's abilities were causing physical illnesses, people who simply don't want them and of course just plain dangerous criminals. For these reasons, and more, is why they decided to revisit this project.

"Well, I'm not sure how it will work. It isn't just one injection and powers are gone." Mohinder explained. "It would need to be a series of injections. Also depending on the individual, there could be some major side effects and they may need some counseling as well."

"So, how long would the process take?" Peter asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. A few months, a year? It may depend on the person." Mohinder sounded doubtful. "Until we find someone that is willing to do trial testing, we can't be sure."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do about getting some volunteers. The sooner we get this figured out, the better."

"I hope it's that easy Peter. Take care."

"You too."

Catherine had been neglecting her only friend for a while, so she and Sophie made a date. They did some shopping and then diner.

"They've got me working these crazy hours. I don't get home until three in the morning some days." Sophie complained. This information made Catherine feel less guilty because their lack of time spent together wasn't just her fault.

Catherine frowned. "Damn, that sucks."

"Yeah, and to top that, Dave works the hours I sleep."

At that moment, an extremely tall man in horned rimmed glasses came walking up to the table.

"Excuse me ladies." he said politely.

"Mr. Bennet!" Sophie smiled wide.

"Sophie Flowers. How have you been?" he asked.

"I've been great." Sophie turned to Catherine. "Oh, this is my good friend," she said putting an arm around Catherine and squeezing her tight, "Catherine. Catherine this is Mr. Bennet. He helped me get a job, ya know, when I was at Safe Haven."

"Noah Bennet." He said shaking her hand.

Catherine thought it odd that Sophie seemed smitten with this man. He was old enough to be Sophie's father for goodness sake.

"Catherine Monroe?" Bennet asked.

"Yes. Have we met before?"

"No, but your ex husband works for me."

"Oh." She rolled her eyes a little.

"He tells me you're seeing someone now." He tried to sound casual.

"Did he?" Catherine was sounding a bit snide. "How sweet."

"Look, I'm not trying to make waves," Noah gave her his most charming smile. "Alarric isn't exactly taking things well. It's almost unhealthy. But, I think it's great you've found someone. I've gone through a divorce myself a few years ago. I know how hard it is to get back in the dating routine again. I hope you find what you're looking for."

Catherine noted that his smile was indeed charming. She smiled back, "Thank you."

"Your welcome." he turned his attention back to Sophie, "You are just the woman I wanted to see."

Sophie blushed. "Really? Why?"

"I have a little business proposition for you." He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out his business card. "Why don't you give me a ring tonight and we'll discuss the details." Noah knew she had a crush on him and he knew he could easily manipulate her.


	5. Keep Me Alive

Keep Me Alive

Gabriel sat leaning back in the plush chair with one leg propped up on the ottoman studying Catherine as she did stretches on the floor after her jog. He knew there was something there. An ability that hadn't surfaced yet. It would be interesting to see if he could manipulate her enough to bring it out.

She looked over at him, "What?" she asked.

He gave her an inquisitive look, "what if I told you Catherine, that you have an ability and I know what it is?"

She began to laugh out loud. "Gabriel, I think I would know if I had an ability by now, don't you?"

"Not necessarily." He explained, "You may not have been in a situation for it to present itself. In a lot of cases, for example, the person is in a state of heightened emotion. Fear, extreme sadness, rage, when they manifest."

"I went through a lot of those emotions with Alarric." She said trying to settle the discussion.

"Okay, maybe you weren't in the right environment at the time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, someone realizes they can fly if maybe they fall," he paused and then suggested, "maybe someone realizes they can breath under water when they almost drown."

"You think my ability has something to do with breathing underwater?"

"Yes."

She gave a quick laugh and shook her head. "That's crazy! I mean, how do you even think you know this?" She questioned him. "With your ability to know how things work? I'm a person, not a thing."

He sighed, "It doesn't matter. You're a complex structure." He said impatiently.

"Okay, say you're right? What are we gonna do about it?"

"I think we should test it." he said with a grin.

"How, I just jump in the water and take a breath?"

"Yes. Or," he hesitated for a moment, "I could hold you under."

"What? You're insane!"

"I've been told." She naturally didn't understand the truth to that statement.

"You can't be serious? What if you're wrong?"

"I don't believe that I am."

Catherine decided she must be as insane as he was, because she agreed to give his theory a try. They went out to the lake not far from their home. Of course there wasn't supposed to be any night swimming, but they couldn't try with people around. It would cause a panic to see a man drowning a woman.

The night was warm and the sounds of the frogs and crickets was soothing. They stopped walking when they came to the edge of the lake. Staring out over the water, Gabriel turned his head to look at Catherine. "You ready?"

She turned towards him and without speaking stepped out of her shoes. She lifted her shirt over her head and dropped it to the ground. Then she unzipped her jean shorts, pushed them past her hips and let them fall to her feet. She kicked them off. She stood in her bra and panties, the moonlight made her skin appear as if it was glowing. Gabriel couldn't help but let his eyes wonder over her body.

She stepped into the water. It was chilly, but her body quickly adjusted to the temperature. Gabriel shed his shoes and shirt and followed her in. She walked out until the water came just past her waist. "I'm scared." She said.

"I know." He replied.

"What if it doesn't work?"

"It will."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and embraced her. She drew her arms up around his neck and shoulders. They hugged for a minute or two. He kissed her head and pulled away taking both her hands from around his neck. He reached out and caressed her face while holding one of her hands against his chest.

"Trust me." He whispered.

She knelt down into the water, his hands resting on her shoulders. She was under the water for a little over a minute when her lungs felt like they needed air.

"Take the water into your lungs." He said looking at her through the water. His own reflection danced on the surface. She moved to stand, but he pushed her back down.

She began to flail. "Take in the water!" He urged her.

She couldn't. It was like a reflex that her body just wouldn't let her do. She started to really struggle now. She was incredibly strong. He admired that about her but, he was still stronger.

In her panic she scratched at his arms drawing blood. They healed almost immediately. Looking up at him she let all the air out of her lungs and her lungs instinctively drew in a breath. She felt as if she was smothering, choking and felt terror. Then everything was suddenly calm. Her lungs felt full and heavy, but she felt very much alive. Her struggles had stopped. Gabriel let go of her shoulders and she stayed sitting on the lake floor. It didn't feel as natural as breathing air of course, it took some effort. She had to pull the water into her lungs hard, like sucking a thick milkshake through a straw. Then she had to push the water out like she was blowing up a balloon. She could feel the water rush in and out of her lungs. It was a strange sensation. It felt as if she had shortness of breath, but she figured this was something that may feel more natural and get easier with time. It took her a few minutes to notice that she could also see clearly.

After a short while she stood up out of the water. The feeling of suffocation came over her again and her eyes began to burn. She coughed as her body expelled the water from her lungs. Then she vomited. Finally, her lungs started to breathe air again. It was a relief really. Breathing under water wasn't comfortable, but it was exhilarating.

Gabriel helped her to the shore and sat down with her. "I can't believe that just happened." She said with excitement. "God, it's incredible!"

As Gabriel held her hand he felt the familiar tingling waves run up his arm and into his chest. No matter if he collected an ability by slicing some ones head open or using empathy, the sensation was always the same. Her ability was rather worthless in comparison to all of the ones he had, but he wanted to be able to relate to her. He couldn't now of course, she didn't yet know about his multiple powers and being able to learn them. So, he waited patiently for now at the shore for her to play with her new found ability for a while.

Catherine could barely sleep that night she was so excited about what had just happened. She wanted to tell everyone at work the next day. But, she decided maybe it wouldn't be such a great idea. No one would really care anyway. They had there little clicks and she didn't often get involved in that sort of thing. Breathing under water wasn't all that impressive compared to what some of the others in the office could do. She just smiled to herself reliving the experience in her head.


	6. Tribulation

Tribulation

It was dusk and a little cool outside when Catherine returned home. She started searching for her keys in her purse when a teenage boy walked into the building. "Are you Mrs. Monroe?"

She looked at him a bit suspiciously. He was short, stocky and looked a bit geeky. "Ms. Monroe" she answered.

"Whatever. I'm suppose to give this to you." He handed her a large manila envelope that was closed with a brass colored clasp. All that was written on it was, "Catherine Monroe," in a handwriting she didn't recognize.

"Who's it from?" she asked taking the envelope.

"I'm not suppose to say. See ya." And he walked out the door, jumped on his skateboard and rode off.

When she got inside, she tossed the package on the table and started preparing for her date with Gabriel. He would be coming over in a few hours. They had planned to see a midnight showing of a movie they had both been anticipating.

After her shower and changing, the envelope was really pulling at her curiosity. She picked it up. It seemed to have a fair amount of paper inside. She opened it and pulled out the contents. The first thing she saw was a newspaper clipping of a young man wearing a sweater vest and Clark Kent type glasses. She sat slowly down in the chair realizing who the man was in the photo. It was Gabriel. "He killed his mother?" she said to herself. She was in disbelief. He looked so harmless and innocent in the photograph.

She flipped to the next piece of content and a photograph slid down into her lap. It looked sort of like a mug shot. This photo looked more like him, but much younger. She held it up. The name Sylar was typed under the photo. "Sylar" she whispered to herself. She recalled their conversation when she had found his watch, 'Sylar?' 'What did you call me?' it suddenly made much more sense.

The file had his whole life history it seemed. His broken childhood, his life as a watchmaker, his fall into psychotic madness. She started to feel sick as she looked through the gruesome pictures of his victims. There must have been a dozen, maybe more. She didn't count them. She was in utter shock. How could this man that she had been in such a passionate relationship with for the past five months be capable of doing these things? He was so powerful. Not once had she seen an ounce of evidence that he possessed such abilities. Her eyes welled so full of tears she could no longer see the paper. Tears began to fall fast down her checks. The burning lump in her throat from trying to repress sobbing was to much to bare any longer and she began to ball her eyes out. She felt as if someone had died.

She cried for quite a while. She hadn't noticed the time and had forgotten all about her date with Gabriel. Before she knew it, he was knocking at her door. She looked up quickly wiping away her tears. She ran to check her face in bathroom mirror.

He knocked again, "Catherine?"

She was frozen, staring at the door. What should she do?

"Catherine?" He said knocking harder.

She was afraid to open the door. She grabbed her purse and dug inside looking for her pepper spray. It wasn't there. Alarric. She cursed him in her mind remembering him with it in his hand the last time she saw him.

"Catherine," his voice was loud now, he sounded agitated. "Open the door." He could hear her shuffling around inside.

"Coming." she choked out. She felt nauseous, her heart was racing. She walked slowly to the door and swallowed hard. She didn't know if she was going to be able to look at him. She turned the bolt lock, unlatched the chain and opened the door.

His eyes where already fixed on her like he could see her through the door before she opened it. Maybe he could for all she knew.

"What's going on?" he asked. It was obvious that she'd been crying. He pushed his way inside and shut the door behind himself.

She didn't answer him. She felt faint when she realized she had left the envelope with his criminal history spilled out for the world to see on her dining room table. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

He cocked his head to the side and arched an eyebrow. "You're terrified." His eyes raked her from head to toe and back again. He glanced around the room. "Why?" He demanded. He could hear her heart racing in fear.

"I….I," her eyes wondered unintentionally toward the table. She couldn't speak, she didn't know what the hell to say. He followed her gaze and walked to the table. He slid the file toward himself and spun it around with one hand. His face shot back to her with an expression of fury she had never seen before.

"Where did you get this?"

She just stood there with her mouth hanging open, waiting for her voice to return to her.

"WHERE?" he yelled.

She jumped at the tone of his voice. "I don't know. Some kid handed it to me when I came home."

He knew she was telling the truth. He picked up some of the papers and concentrated. He couldn't pick up on any one thing. The file had been handled by so many people, it was a roar of voices and a blur of images.

"Please tell me none of this is true, Gabriel." she begged him.

He began to laugh. "You know what? I'm glad this happened. Because I've been trying to figure out how to tell you all of this."

The tears started again. She shock her head slowly. "You killed your mother?" Catherine asked practically whispering.

"Yes." he admitted. "I murdered my mother. But that was the only one that was truly an accident."

"All those people…" she wanted to understand. "You said you fixed things with your ability."

"There's a hunger that comes with it. An almost uncontrollable desire for power, to learn more. So much more that I was compelled to kill people with abilities, get into their brain and see exactly how they worked. Then I would take their ability for myself, being able to use it with more control and understanding then some of them had themselves. They weren't deserving of such power. It made me feel," he stopped and looked back down at the mug shot picture, "divine."

Respecting Catherine's privacy, he had never tried to read her mind, but he did now and knew she was about to make a run for the door. He made eye contact with her and then turned slowly toward the door as if to tell her he knew her plan. She darted towards it as quickly as she could, but she wasn't fast enough. He caught her by the wrist. She struggled to free herself from his grasp, but couldn't. His hand was locked like an iron shackle around her wrist. Her right hand was free so she decided to take a swing. She punched him square in the jaw. His face snapped to the side from the force of it. Despite the pain that ran through her hand, she went to swing again. He caught her arm this time. He looked down at her with a grin on his face. It looked like he was about to speak, but before he could, she brought her knee up hard into his groin. He dropped to his knees and his grip loosened. She ripped her arms free and turned to run to the door. He reached a hand out and grabbed her ankle, causing her to tumble to the floor. Her eyes still on her escape, she saw the locks turn on their own.

He started to drag her by her foot toward himself. Still on his knees, he used his power to flip her onto her back. He pulled her along the floor until she stopped underneath him. She was pinned to the floor. It felt strange, like invisible hands where holding her in place. He placed his hands on either side of her head, looming over her. She was helpless as she laid there looking up at him. His eyes were dark and angry. Her eyes grazed over the rest of his handsome face, her heart was pounding in both fear and desire. 'How can I even feel like this?' she thought. 'He's a monster.' But, she was already in love with him before she knew the truth. Before she new about Sylar. Was this Sylar that loomed over her now?

"I'm not done talking to you yet." he said through is teeth, trying to keep his composure.

He got to his feet. The invisible hands where gone and replaced by a new sensation. A strange tugging on her limbs and a tingling feeling in her stomach. She rose and started to walk involuntarily toward a dining room chair which had turned out, inviting her to sit. She felt like a marionette. The force shoved her down into the chair and remained heavy on her body, unable to move.

"I've never intended to use any of my abilities on you Catherine, but I felt I had no choice." he said apologetically as he sat down across from her. "I need you to hear my side."

"Your side?" she asked. "Do you even get to have 'a side'? You're a serial killer, Gabriel!"

"I was. I'm not anymore. At least I don't want to be."

He wished so badly she hadn't seen that file. He read in her mind that she had recently spoken to Noah Bennet. "You've spoken to Noah Bennet? I think he may be behind this."

She couldn't believe that. Noah seemed so charming, but then again so was Gabriel.

"Do you want to hear just how much of a good-guy Noah is and the people he keeps company with?" He obviously heard her thoughts. "Let me enlighten you on his manipulative ways.

"After my first murder, I tried to kill myself. He sent an angel to save me." he remembered feeling like Elle really understood and cared for him. It had all been a lie. "No. Not to save me. To tempt me. She introduced me to someone she knew I would be tempted to kill and take his ability from. So that they could study me, find out how and if I would kill again. And while I sliced his head open, Bennet didn't come to his rescue. No, he watched, with morbid fascination in a van outside from the cameras they secretly installed in my home to monitor the whole act. He offered that young man up to me like a sacrificial lamb knowing what his fate would be.

"Bennet and the other members of his company continued to use and manipulate me for their own benefits. Offering me other victims along the way. I didn't become the monster that is Sylar all on my own. I had a little help. I know it doesn't justify all the things I've done, but it does give me reason not to trust these people."

"What happened to the girl?" Catherine asked even though she knew what the answer was going to be.

"I killed her." he simply stated.

She believed what he had told her. Her fear was diminishing. She knew he wasn't going to kill her.

He came to stand behind her and ran his fingers lightly threw her hair, gently pulled her head back. He could hear the pulse in her veins. He pressed his lips against her neck and took in the vision of her desires. She was confused. She wanted to stay with him, but knew that morally it was the wrong thing to do. He kissed her mouth and despite all that had just happened, he could feel the desire she felt for him. He wanted nothing more then to bend her over the table and fulfill that desire, but now was certainly not the time. He released her and took a few steps backwards.

She stood up as she heard the locks on the door move back to the unlocked position. She was free to leave him if she wished.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way." He said with sincerity.

"I want to trust you." Really, she still did. Even after finding out the truth, as horrible as it was. "But, I need some time to think Gabriel."

He nodded and walked out the door. He stood in the hall for a moment, not wanting to leave her door and not wanting to return to his own. So, he walked out of the building.

Noah's office door was open when Alarric lightly tapped on it. Noah looked up from his computer screen. "O'Leary. Have a seat." he said nodding to the chair in front of his desk.

"I gave her the file." Alarric informed him.

"Really?" Noah leaned back in his chair and grinned. "And how exactly do you think that's going to help?"

"Maybe she'll come to her senses and run."

"She can still be found, Alarric."

"How do you know taking her will even get him to surrender to you?" he spat out and stood up to pace the floor.

"I don't know for sure that it will. But, I'm guessing he must care about her, being with her for as long as he has and she's still alive."

"You are going to make sure Catherine is safe through all of this?" Alarric came to realize no matter what he did, he couldn't really stop Noah from doing what he wanted.

"Of course. I'll do everything I can." Noah said as his eyes wondered back to his computer screen.

"You gonna let me in on what the hell you plan to do with him after he," Alarric let out a sigh, "IF, he surrenders? I mean, you can't kill him, you can't keep him locked up."

"I've got a plan." Noah said calmly. "Don't worry, I'll let you know in due time."


	7. Sounds Of Silence

Sounds of Silence

Catherine muddled around for a while and finally made her way to bed. It was going to be a sleepless night. She thought about the things Gabriel had told her. She also thought about Claire Bennet and the things she had said in an interview she had seen with her on the news. Claire had talked about how 'specials' had been used and manipulated by those trying to gain from their own selfish needs. She didn't remember her mention any names but wondered if she had been thinking of her own father. Alarric had also mentioned how some of his friends and even his family would try to get him to use his ability so they could get dirt on someone and use it for black mail or catch someone in a lie. He hated it.

Things with Gabriel had been wonderful. The experience she had with him at the lake that night was proof enough that she could trust him with her life. Alarric had never made her feel that secure. She thought she might be able to accept his past and help him move forward. Maybe he needed her.

She sat up and turned on the lamp. She picked up the phone on her night stand and dialed Gabriel's number. The line rang and rang. She new he wasn't home. He always answered by the third ring no matter the hour. She got out of bed and put on a tee shirt and shorts.

A man with long hair walked through her wall and into her living room. He went to the door and let in another man with short cropped hair and a full beard.

When Catherine started to walk out of her bedroom, she became aware that it suddenly seemed very quiet. More then usual.

She saw the two men and screamed. At least she thought she did. No noise came from her mouth. The silence was deafening. The bearded man smiled, pointed to his ears and mouthed with exaggerated lip movements, "No. One. Can. Hear. You." Then they both darted toward her. She turned and got a few steps in before one grabbed her. She was able to reach a small sculpture on the bookshelf and swung it around with as much force as she could. She managed to knock the long haired man to the floor after hitting him hard in the head. She and the bearded man both tripped over him. They wrestled together on the floor until he got her face down and held her hands behind her back. He was fumbling with something and she got her hands free. He must have rose up on his knees in reaction because she was able to flip over onto her back. As he leaned over to try to subdue her again she jabbed him in the eye with her fingers the way she had learned in a self defense class years ago. She couldn't believe she remember it and that it worked, it was disorienting with the absence of sound.

Gabriel was almost at the front steps of the apartment building when he heard a hissing noise. It got louder until it suddenly just cut off like it had been sucked away. Then it was silent. His feet made no sound as he climbed the steps. The door to the building didn't creek when he opened it. He wondered if this was some sort of sound manipulation. He himself could manipulate sound, but not in this way.

He wasn't sure if it had to do with his ability of heightened hearing, but the silence got louder if that were possible, as he neared Catherine's door.

He used telekinesis to throw the door open. He was dismayed at what he saw. A bearded man struggling with Catherine. She threw her head forward and head butted him hard, knocking them both off balance. It gave Gabriel a chance to hurl the man against the wall and pin him there. He saw the long haired man stumbling to his feet and with a small flick of his wrist Gabriel pinned him to the wall next to the bearded man. Still in absolute silence Gabriel stepped slowly toward the men. Trying to tap into the bearded mans mind to get any information as to why they were there. The mans right eye was red and swollen and streaming with tears. He had a red lump on his forehead as well. Gabriel was impressed that Catherine had made his attack such a challenge.

The long haired man disappeared through the wall. Gabriel's head snapped to where he had been. Arms reached through the wall, wrapped around the bearded mans waist and pulled him threw the wall.

All the sound came rushing back like a scream. Catherine and Gabriel both clamped their hands over their ears, but the screaming sound was gone as quickly as it came.

Gabriel came running down the steps from his second floor apartment with a duffle bag in his hand. Catherine was coming out of her own apartment as she watched him descend toward her. She had a small suitcase and, of course, her purse. She shut the door and locked it. He held the door to the building open for her without a word. They made their way to her car. She opened the trunk and he put the bags in and closed it.

"Hey! Catherine!" They both looked toward the building. "Where are you going?" Sophie asked as she came trotting down the steps toward them.

"Uh…" Catherine couldn't think of an excuse as to why she was leaving without so much as telling her only friend her plans. She didn't want to get her involved in her potentially dangerous situation. She thought it best to keep her in the dark.

"We're taking a weekend trip," Gabriel chimed in, "a little surprise I have planned." he put his arm around Catherine's waist and leaned down to peck her lips.

"Where to?" Sophie asked.

Gabriel gave her an impatient stare, "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise would it?"

"I'll call you when we get there, Sophie." Catherine gave her a hug trying to act calm and casual.

Sophie took her by the hand and pulled her a few feet away from the car. She wasn't a complete fool. She knew more then they thought. "I don't think this is a good idea Catherine. After five months what do you really know about him? You've said so yourself." Sophie looked back at Gabriel who still had his gaze locked coldly on her. A chill ran down her spine. "What if he's taking you somewhere to rape and kill you." She suggested desperately.

Catherine chuckled, "Why would he rape me? And I really don't think he's going to kill me, Sophie. Come on."

"Okay then, maybe he has some other sadistic plan for you and he accidentally kills you and then rapes you."

Catherine furrowed her brow at her. "I think you're the one who's sadistic for even coming up with that idea." She pushed Sophie away from her and started to walk back to the car.

Sophie grabbed her arm, "Catherine, I don't trust him." She was desperate to keep her there.

Catherine ripped her arm out of Sophie's clutches. Thinking about how she had put full trust in Gabriel the night they discovered her ability, and how he had asked her to accept his past when she found out, instead of threatening her life, she said, "Well, I do. I'll see you later, Sophie." She walked to the car and got in the drivers set, leaving Sophie standing on the sidewalk.

Gabriel got in and rolled the window down. He smiled wide at Sophie and said, "Yeah, see ya later." They drove off.


	8. Haunted

Haunted

Peter called a meeting together with his lead personnel to discuss the research project Mohinder and he had planned.

"So, as I'm sure you've already figured out, we need volunteers." Peter explained. "It could be a long and unpleasant process. Finding people to commit to this is going to be easier said then done.

"If you have any thoughts or ideas on the matter, please let us know."

Noah stood up. "I have a thought."

Peter turned to look at Angela and rolled his eyes. He looked back at Noah. "Yes."

"I know of the perfect subject for this research."

Peter immediately responded. "Noah, I know what you're going to say," he said with his hand raised in the air, "but, he's never going to volunteer, especially knowing you're involved."

"He murdered your brother, Peter," Noah said cutting Peter off when he clearly wasn't done speaking. "Or have you forgotten?"

Those words stung Peter. He glared at Noah and continued. "There's no safe way to force him in here. We couldn't keep him here for long anyway. He would need full use of his powers to test if the project is working."

Angela rose and stood by her son's side. "He's right. Having Sylar become a test subject could be potentially dangerous. Not to mention he could be an asset to us if we were to ever need him. It would be beneficial to have someone with such power as an ally."

"Mom-" Peter sighed rubbing his eyes. They'd had this discussion too many times.

She continued, "Besides, persuading him to commit to such an extensive experimental project would be near impossible."

Noah smiled. "I know just how to persuade him." He shuffled through some papers in his brief case. He pulled out a thin file and held it out to them. "Sylar has taken a lover, a companion he seems to deeply care for."

Angela opened and looked at the file. "Are you suggesting we abduct this woman?" Little did they know that he had already taken it upon himself to try.

Peter took the file from Angela. "Absolutely not." He closed it and handed it back to Noah. "We are not going to endanger that woman's life…"

"Her life may already be in danger!" Alarric shouted.

"How is that, exactly?" Peter asked sarcastically. "Why, because she's Sylar's 'lover'? If he cares for her as much as you think he does, then I doubt she's in any danger. In fact, I'd say she couldn't be safer with anyone else."

"How can you honestly believe that? And you Mrs. Petrelli?" Alarric looked at them in revulsion. "After what he did to your family?"

Peter stepped around the two of them to address the few other people in the room. "Thank you all for coming. You're free to go." They left the room quietly.

He turned back to Noah, Alarric and Angela. "We're done here." He started to walk out.

"Peter, you know I'm right about this." Noah pleated.

Peter walked back towards them. "I told you about the time I spent in his head. I understand more about him then any of you. He feels remorse for the things he has done. His ability made him insane. I used to have his ability, remember?" He looked over at his mother and back to Noah. "Or have you forgotten?"

Angela looked away, remembering how her son had tried to kill her when his mind was poisoned with the hunger for power. Sylar had been the one that stopped him, believing her to be his mother at the time.

"You're brother isn't in there anymore, Peter." Noah said. "I know you think Nathan is still floating around in Sylar's head."

Peter looked at Noah feeling as if he could punch him dead in the face. "I know Nathan's gone. I once use to think if I forgave Sylar that I wouldn't be doing right by Nathan. But, I realized that holding onto all that hate was killing ME. Forgiving Sylar was the only way I could finally let Nathan go and move on with my life." His eyes roamed over Noah's face. He almost pitied him.

"It seems to me you need to do the same." Peter continued. "You drove Claire away with your bitterness. You need to forgive her, but you can't just let it go. You're haunted by your anger, Noah. It'll drive you mad."

Peter walked out without another word spoken from anyone.

After hours on the road, he still hadn't told her where they were going. He had been so quiet she was afraid to ask. He must have had a plan because he kept directing her where to go.

They where on secondary roads now, winding through farm land with mountains in the near distance.

They came to a small old town with a little grocery, an old run-down looking video store, a mom & pop restaurant and so on. She thought they were going to drive on through when he told her to pull into the parking lot of an old motel just on the edge of the town.

They went inside. A man that looked to be in his fifties was sitting at the counter in front of a computer screen. The computer was fairly new. It looked out of place. Gabriel was disappointed with this. He had picked this place because they didn't use a computer system. They still used paper files. At least the last time he had been there they did. He was out of ideas now.

"What can I do for ya?" the man asked in a pleasant tone.

"Yeah, do you still have the cabins in the back?" Gabriel asked.

The man smiled. "Sure do. How long you need one for?"

"Maybe two nights for now." He started reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

"Fine. If you decide you need it longer it won't be a problem." He offered. "Which one you prefer? They're all available."

"The furthest away from the town."

"Looking for privacy?" the man asked with a grin looking from Gabriel to Catherine.

He glared at the man from under his brow. "You could say that."

The man cleared his throat and completed the transaction, which was made in cash.

They drove on a little dirt road that started at the parking lot. It winded through a moderately wooded area until it led to three log cabins. Each had a fair amount of distance between them. They didn't look nearly as old as the motel itself, they had a comfortable and warm inviting look to them.


	9. Violent Games

Violent Games

Catherine was trying to get some rest, but she could hear Gabriel moving around in the den and kitchen. She couldn't sleep so she got up to see what Gabriel was up to.

"You should be sleeping." He said. He hadn't turned around so he must have heard her coming. He was repacking his duffle bag.

"I can't sleep. What are you doing?"

"I can't sleep either. I packed in such a hurry." He gestured toward the mess of clothing and other items on the couch. She wasn't surprised. He liked things orderly.

She watched him as he folded and packed. He was shirtless with dark blue jeans. He was so lean she could see the muscles in his back and shoulders flexing as he moved. She felt an immediate longing for him.

He turned his head and looked at her over his shoulder. "You should try and get some sleep." He nodded towards the bedroom as if he was trying to dismiss her.

He seemed odd. Something was different, like he was on edge. He must have really been anticipating something terrible to happen. But, he was so powerful, what was there to worry about?

She slowly walked toward him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She leaned in and kissed him on the neck. He froze for a few seconds and then continued his organizing. She trailed her hands down his back to his waist, kissing his shoulder. Her hands then roamed around to his strong stomach and up to his chest. He froze again and closed his eyes taking in a breath. He took both of her hands in his and pulled them off of his chest. He inched away from her. "Catherine, please. This isn't a good time."

"Why?" She reached out and grabbed his hand to pull him back to her. "No one knows we're here."

"They will find us." He was sure of that.

"So? Why should we care?" she started gliding her hands over his chest again. "With all your powers…"

"Don't over estimate me, Catherine!" He cut her off shoving her hands away from him. "I've told you I haven't been that man for a long time. I don't know what I'm capable of anymore."

He wouldn't look at her face. She placed her hand on his cheek and tried to get him to look her in the eye. "Look at me, Gabriel, look at me." He still wouldn't.

"I know what you're afraid of." she said. "If Sylar is in there, then show him to me."

His eyes moved onto hers. He furrowed his brow, not understanding this irrational request. He shook his head slowly and was about to speak when she pushed her thumb against his lips.

"I want all of you." she pressed her mouth very lightly to his and whispered, "Show me who you are." Listening to the pounding of her heart and seeing the lust in her eyes, her desire quickly became his and could no longer be ignored. She wanted Sylar? Then he wouldn't deny her.

He put a hand on her chest and pushed her back several steps. She was wearing only a lilac cotton tank top and gray sweat shorts. Her maple colored hair swept her shoulders and her dark eyes sparkled in the dim light. She was beautiful.

He pointed a finger at her and with two quick movements of his hand her straps were cut free from her shoulders. Then he made a long steady cut in the cotton between her breast down to the hem until the now worthless piece of fabric feel to the floor. Another flick of his wrist and her shorts were around her ankles. She stood naked before him.

"That's better." He said as his eyes grazed hungrily over her body. She felt a huge pressure on her shoulders that forced her to her knees, her breast bouncing softly when she came to kneel on the floor. She couldn't stand if tried. He took a few steps toward her unbuckling his belt. Following his lead she reached up and started unzipping his jeans. She pulled his long hard cock out of his boxers and licked the length of him. She put the tip between her lips and sucked him lightly while she pumped him with her fist. Then she slowly took him into her mouth. He watched her as she submissively swallowed him up.

She felt phantom hands on her breast, kneading and pinching. She was surprised by a slight pressure on her clit and the sensation of fingers pushing their way inside of her. His invisible touches and having him in her mouth made her dripping wet with desire. She couldn't wait to have him deep inside of her wet core, fucking her.

He abruptly brought her to her feet and bent her over the dining table with such a force that caused the left side of her face to smack the table. Her cheek stung from the impact of it. He had her hands pinned to either side of her head, she had no control over her own body once again. He came up behind her and kicked her ankles further apart. Catherine pulled in a sharp breath when he seized her hips and plunged himself into her pussy fast and hard.

Sex with Gabriel was sometimes a bit rough. But sex with Sylar was almost violent. Her heart pounded with both excitement and fear from his near sexual assault. He slapped her hard on the ass causing her to cry out which seemed to add more fuel to his lust. She felt the edge of the table digging into her thighs and the crushing force of his power pushing her down was making it harder to breath.

"Stop." She managed to work out. "Stop, you're hurting me." She knew that she had brought this onto herself. He knew what would happen, he had tried to tell her. How gullible of her to believe that she could handle it or even tame him.

He didn't respond. "Gabriel, please…" That got his attention.

He pulled out of her and before she realized that she was free of his power, he had yanked her up from the table. "Gabriel is not here right now." He said through clenched teeth as he dragged her by the arm and pushed her up against the wall.

"This is what you wanted." He spoke firmly but didn't raise his voice. "You wanted Sylar. You wanted to know me, all of me." His eyes flashed with fury.

He pressed his body against hers. She could feel him, still firm and swollen against her stomach. He leaned his face in close to hers. His nose traced a line down her check to her ear, his breath hot on her neck. "Tell me Catherine, are you disappointed?" his mouth grazed her ear as he spoke, "Am I not everything you expected me to be?" And honestly, he was everything she expected.

He knelt down in front of her taking her leg and draping it over his shoulder. His fingers slipped easily inside her as he began to lap her up. She was swollen and ripe for him. He reached around and squeezed her ass, pulling her closer against his mouth wanting to eat up every inch of her.

He slowly licked from her thigh up to her belly continuing on until he paused to feast on her breast. She tangled her fingers in his hair anticipating his next move. He brought his mouth up to her neck where he sank his teeth into her skin, bruising her, marking her as his own. He leaned against her, pressing her against the wall. His hands groped the back of her thighs, pulling her legs up around his waist. He pushed his way back inside of her. Although he enjoyed fucking her against the wall, it was limiting his movements.

He peeled her from the wall and carried her to the bedroom where they fell to the bed. She reached out to embrace him but he caught her wrist, choosing to bind her with his own strength instead of his ability. It seemed more carnal that way. Small streaks of electricity come out from the finger tips of his free hand as he gave her tiny tingling shocks over her skin. He slowly showered her body with this surprisingly arousing sensation.

He brought her legs up over his shoulders with her ankles on either side of his head allowing him deeper penetration. He returned to his violent pace. She quickly drew close to orgasm. She cried out and he could feel her tighten around him as she started to come. The sensation threw her into oblivion, her body shuddered with small tremors and tears fell from the corners of her eyes down into the shells of her ears. He took her ankles and spread her legs wide. As he came near his own climax he slid his thumb over her clit and milked another out of her. He closed his eyes and moaned quietly, spilling inside her.

He fell on top of her and remained between her thighs while he caught his breath. She felt him return to his soft normal size. He wrapped his arms around her in a crushing embrace, kissing her hard. Her heart thumped at the thought of the violent game they had just played. It was alarming how much she actually enjoyed it, it made her feel almost shameful.

However, neither of them had trouble sleeping that night.

"We have a location." Noah said as he and Alarric walked to the parking lot.

"What? When?"

"Just before I called you down."

"How?"

"I know a young man who can talk to computers and machines. He was able to pick up their location on the database of an old motel." Noah explained as he stopped at his car.

"Well, tell me where. I can go…now!" Alarric had been anticipating this information.

"No. I've already sent someone." Noah said as he climbed into his car. "They're on their way now."

They had stayed two nights. Very early that morning they'd decided that they needed to move on. Catherine had just gotten out of the shower. She stepped out of the bathroom with just a towel around her. Gabriel had his bag in one hand and a small box with supplies under his other arm.

"I'm going out to put these things in the car." He said. "We should leave as soon as you're ready."

"Just let me get dressed and I will be." She said walking into the bedroom as Gabriel walked out the front door.

She stood beside the bed where her suitcase was laying open.

"Well, well, well. Looky what we have here." A man's voice said.

She looked up and a sleazy looking man with dark hair and circles under his eyes was standing on the other side of the bed leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

She started to slowly inch her way toward the door when she heard the same voice coming from behind her.

"A wet, naked woman all to ourselves." He said.

She turned and another man, identical to the first closed the door and blocked it. She was trapped.

"Gabriel!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Closing the trunk of the car Gabriel heard her scream his name. He started to run toward the cabin when a bellow of flames engulfed him. He fell to the ground in a ball. The flames disappeared and Sophie was standing a few feet in front of him.

"Sylar, listen. We don't want to hurt anybody." she told him.

He reached a hand out and threw her into the trees. She hit one and feel to the ground unconscious.

"Stupid girl." He said under his breath and ran into the cabin. He saw three identical men standing inside. He recognized him from the carnival. "Eli." He said.

"Yeah, how are you, old friend?" he said mockingly.

"I'll be a whole lot better once I've killed you." He said raising an eyebrow.

"You can't kill anyone anymore." Eli chuckled. "What is it that Lydia said?" He put a finger to his chin. "Hmmmm, oh yeah. You're impotent." He grinned.

Gabriel put his hands out to his sides and streaks of blue lightening shot out of his palms at the nearest Eli. He disappeared into mist only to reappear a few seconds later.

This time he tried fixing him to the wall, but the same thing happened. The Eli's all started to chuckle in unison. Gabriel didn't know what the hell to do now. With the exception of Hiro Nakamura and speedsters, he never had trouble finding a weakness to take advantage of. He needed to find the real Eli.

He lit up the whole room with electricity and the three figures turned to mist. He moved quickly, kicking open the bedroom door, cracking the frame and sending little splinters of wood into the air. He saw two Eli's holding Catherine. He could hear movement behind him in the hall.

Eli took a sniff of Catherine's hair. "Mmmmmmm. She's a little tall for my taste Sylar, but I can look past it." The other Eli slid his hand under her towel. Catherine was in tears. "We're going to have so much fun with her." He said in a sing-song voice.

Gabriel felt panicked for the first time in a long time. He couldn't get his thoughts together fast enough. Then there was a gun shot. One of the Eli's from the hall had shot Gabriel in the neck. Blood splattered into the air and over the bed. Gabriel fell to the ground on his side, blood spilling from his veins. Catherine screamed through Eli's hand, thrashing to get out of his grasp. They started to drag her out of the room. She struggled and fought the whole way, her towel finally falling from her body.

"Don't worry sweetheart." Eli said in her ear. "He's not dead. I just needed to buy some time."

Gabriel was already healing. He sat up and took a gasping breath. By the time he was back on his feet, his wounds where completely healed. He looked around the empty room, dazed with confusion. Then he heard Catherine's muffled screams. He looked down the hall and saw two Eli's fighting to get her out of the cabin. A third Eli stepped in and grabbed her legs to keep her from kicking. She was quite a fighter.

He had to think fast. He knew he couldn't just throw lightning around and risk hurting or killing Catherine. He had to figure out which was the real Eli and focus on him. He concentrated on the sound of heartbeats in the room. He was able to easily distinguish between Catherine's accelerated heartbeat, he knew it well, and Eli's slower, heavier sounding heart. It was coming from a fourth Eli standing around the corner obviously directing the others. Before Eli had a chance to react, Gabriel threw a ball of lightning into his chest. He flew backwards and landed on the coffee table, smashing it. All the other Eli's turned to mist causing Catherine to fall to the floor.

Gabriel stepped closer to Eli. He shot him full of electricity, his body jumping and flailing about. Gabriel stopped, so as not to kill him too quickly. Eli's skin was charred and smoking in random places. Gabriel lifted him into the air and fixed him to the wall. Catherine, still naked, watched from the floor where she had fallen. Sylar held up his hand and pointed his finger at Eli.

"You won't kill me." Eli choked out.

Sylar looked at him. The hunger he hadn't felt for so long was starting to stir. He grinned and said, "I want your power." staring at him from under his brow. He made a small incision in Eli's forehead but suddenly stopped. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as if he was struggling with himself.

Eli was now finally fearing for his life. "I thought you didn't have to kill to take powers anymore." Eli said pleadingly.

Sylar opened his eyes and gave him an evil grin. "I don't." Then he continued to slice through his skull. Eli screamed, like all the rest had done before him. Blood dripped down Eli's face and sprayed the walls. Little drops of crimson had splashed over Sylar's face and clothes. He slid Eli down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He slowly took a few steps toward him and reached out, grabbing a handful of Eli's hair. He lifted the top of his skull from his head and exposed his brain. He dropped the skull cap into Eli's lap. Sylar's heart began to pound with excitement as he placed his fingers gently on Eli's brain, searching for the information he needed to gain complete understanding and control of his ability.

Catherine watched in horror as he worked expertly on his victim. She felt vomit rise into her throat. The room started to grow dark. She heard a loud humming in her ears and then all went black as she fainted. Sylar was aware of her, but wasn't concerned. She would be fine now.

Once he added Eli's ability to his own long list of powers and made certain he was dead, he quickly washed as much blood from his face and hands as he could. He wrapped Catherine in a towel and carried her out to the car. She came to for a minute. She looked up and saw the sky dark with storm clouds, Gabriel's face and then, turning her head, she saw a woman laying in the trees. It was Sophie. She let unconsciousness take her over once more.

* * *

**Please let me know what your thoughts are and thank you if you for sticking with my story so far. There is still more to come. **


	10. Cold Rain

Cold Rain

Angela walked into Peter's office looking distraught.

"Mom, what is it?" Peter asked getting to his feet.

"I had a dream. Noah is going through with his plan. Someone has been murdered and there maybe others to follow."

"This is happening now?"

"Yes, I believe they have Micah involved now."

Peter picked up the phone. He wanted to talk to Micah personally. He knew his mothers visions weren't always accurate and he wanted to be close to sure before he went after Noah.

Sophie woke to drops of rain splashing on her face. It was just starting to pour. She stumbled to her feet. She felt dizzy and nauseous and her vision was a little blurry. She worried she had a concussion. Noticing the car gone, she limped into the cabin. She saw Eli slumped against the wall with congealed blood dripping down the side of his face from his open skull. His eyes were open and frozen in a horrified expression. She wretched after taking in the gruesome image. She went back out and sat on the steps and called Noah.

Noah was already on his way when he got Sophie's call. It didn't take him long to get there. It didn't take Peter long, either. After confirming with Micah about the situation he borrowed the ability of flight and arrived almost the same time as Noah had.

Sophie ran to Noah and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, thank God you're here. Sylar nearly killed me."

Noah patted her back, trying to comfort her without sending the wrong signals.

Peter landed next to them. Noah and Sophie both looked quite surprised and a little uneasy to see him there.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Noah asked.

"I think I'm the one that should be asking that question." Peter answered feeling betrayed. Although he didn't know why he didn't see this coming. "My mother had a vision."

Noah's eyes dropped to the ground. He hadn't thought of that possibility. But, what did it matter anyway. Peter was going to find out when he showed up at Safe Haven with Sylar in tow.

"Well, lets go check out the damages." Peter said impatiently.

Sophie stayed in the car while Peter and Noah walked into the cabin. They saw Eli's body. Peter walked down the hall into the bedroom. There he saw a suitcase with women's blood stained clothes inside and a pool of clotted blood on the floor with a bullet laying in it. He reached down and picked it up.

"He's still dangerous." Noah said as Peter walked back into the room. "It was only a matter of time."

"Unless he was provoked." Peter held up the bullet as evidence. Noah gave him a questioning look. "Eli was a manipulative asshole. He probably had it coming." Peter regretted saying that as soon as the words escaped his lips. But he had always hated Eli.

Noah looked at him with disbelief. Peter was one of the best men he new. He couldn't believe what he just heard him say. "The man was tortured with electricity and then had his head sliced open and his brain exposed. Who's side are you on?"

"You're right, Noah. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." Although he did a little. He was surprised that someone else hadn't killed Eli before Sylar did. Looking at Eli's dead body and imaging Sylar molesting his brain he said, "Sylar should be brought in. He would be our best test subject in the fact that he can't be permanently injured or die. And multiple powers means we can try a variety of ways to erase them."

Noah smiled, "I'm glad you're finally seeing things my way."

"I doubt I'm seeing anything your way," he said giving Noah a sideways glance. "What's your next move? I know you've got a plan."

"Edgar is my last hope. I had to do some convincing to get him to agree. And Rene is on his way. He should be here in about fifteen hours or so."

Peter knew Noah was doing this mostly to get revenge on Sylar, to try to hurt him the way Sylar had done to him and his family. However, he had also considered it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have Sylar stripped of his powers. Although Angela would disagree.

"I don't want anymore blood shed on our hands. If anyone else comes out of this killed, I'm placing the blame on you, Noah. You started this." Peter turned to walk out of the cabin. "Come on. We need to get Sophie some medical attention."

Before they left they had Sophie set fire to the cabin so that it would burn to the ground.

When Catherine opened her eyes, she was laying in the backseat of her car, naked and wrapped poorly in a large blood splattered towel. She sat up. Gabriel looked at her through the rearview mirror. "I'll stop soon and get you some clothes out of the trunk."

She started to recall the events of the morning. "You killed that man." she said in a shaky voice.

"He was a threat. I'm a human lie detector Catherine. He was telling the truth when he said he was going to have fun with you." Seeing the doubt in her eyes he continued, "He planned to rape you multiple times using his ability." He clenched his teeth and ringed the stirring wheel at the thought of it.

"And Sophie," she remembered seeing her laying in the woods. "you killed Sophie."

"I did not kill Sophie. I had no reason to."

He saw a small clearing off the road. He slowed down and pulled into it. It looked like one of those places people frequently stopped to do a little bit of fishing. The river was visible through the trees. He got out, walked around to the trunk and opened the backseat door. He handed her a pair of his own sweatpants and one of his tee shirts.

She took the clothes and then said, "You had time to cut a man's head open, fondle his brain, and clean blood off yourself but you couldn't grab my clothes?"

Rain started to pour down onto him, quickly soaking his hair and shirt. He leaned down closer to her, looking aggravated. "I'm sorry, but all of your clothes were covered in my blood." He said through his teeth.

She quickly looked back down at his clothes, holding the towel up over herself.

She was nervous now and couldn't look him the eye. She wished she hadn't said that. He walked away.

She got dressed. His clothes hung loose on her body, but they fit well enough. She pulled her now wet, bare feet into the car and shut the door just as Gabriel got back behind the wheel.

They got back on the road. It was quiet except for the wipers making a thumping beat across the rain splattered windshield. She finally got the nerve to break the silence. "You're healed. You got that ability from Claire Bennet didn't you?"

His eyes met hers in the mirror again but he remained silent. She went on. "I read about her. They say she won't ever die or even age." He still said nothing. She took his silence as confirmation that this fact was also true for himself. She couldn't believe how 'Twilight' this was, except he couldn't make her like him. She would grow old and die and he would live on, forever handsome and strong. Gabriel didn't need to read her mind to know what she was thinking.

She couldn't understand why anyone would want to live forever. Seeing everyone die around you constantly. You would almost be forced to live a life of solitude. And then, what about the end of the world? What would finally kill Gabriel or Claire or anyone else like them? Nuclear war? A huge meteor hitting the earth and wiping everyone out like the dinosaurs? A supernova? It was terrifying to think about.

They drove for about another half hour when Catherine needed to stop.

"I really need to pee, can you please pull over?" She said when she realized they probably weren't going to pass anyplace with a restroom anytime soon.

"Sure."

He found a place to pull off. He got out and walked around to help her out of the car. She was quite beat up from the whole ordeal and was feeling some pain in multiple areas of her body. He held a hand out to her.

"Thanks, but I can do it myself." She said slowly standing up.

He moved toward her to help her anyway. "Catherine…"

"Stop Gabriel!" she snapped at him. "Just, don't touch me. I don't want you near me right now." she said with tears in her eyes.

Her words cut him to the bone. He hadn't felt this hurt since he was a child. He felt seven years old again. He watched her limp towards the trees.

As he waited for her outside the car, listening to the soft roar of the river just beyond the trees, he thought about how things must seem from her perspective. She'd learned he was a reformed psychopath and serial killer only to later witness him brutally murder a man, he was powerful beyond his own capacity at times and her life was in danger just because she became involved with him. He couldn't blame her and feared he was losing her. He could hardly bare the thought.

Catherine came walking out of the trees. The rain had let up from a down pour to a light, cold drizzle. She was rubbing her arms with her hands and her bottom lip was shaking slightly. She stopped about a foot in front of Gabriel. He was leaning against the car with his arms crossed.

As she looked at him she couldn't deny how much she loved his face. His deep brown eyes, his often intimidating stare, the two days worth of hair growth shadowing the contours of his jaw. She loved his confidence and how thoughtful he was with her. He listened to her, respected her space and treated her like a real woman. She was in love with him. And she hated herself for it.

She let her arms fall to her sides and her eyes filled with tears once again. He stood up straight, uncrossing his arms and took a step towards her. A gust of wind began to kick up around her and small strains of hair that weren't weighed down with moisture were swirling around her face.

She felt someone behind her suddenly. Strong, muscular arms wrapped around her, pulling her tight against his hard body. Gabriel recognized Edgar as yet another ex-carnie. However, he knew Edgar was a fairly decent person and wouldn't do anything to hurt Catherine, unlike Eli.

"Sorry mate." Edgar said to Gabriel just before he dashed off with Catherine.

Gabriel had always wondered just how fast a speedster could run. He knew he couldn't be as fast as lightning but, like before, Catherine could end up a casualty if he tried to chase him with electricity. But, was Edgar faster than sound?

The instant Edgar took off, Gabriel screamed. Leaning forward, concentrating on forcing the sound waves toward Edgar's direction. They rolled toward Edgar, distorted the air like heat waves, knocking him off balance. He stumbled, loosing his hold on Catherine and fell to the ground. Catherine rolled away from Edgar stopping just a few feet from the river. She knew she had to make her move towards it without hesitation.

Edgar saw Sylar coming towards him with his palms glowing with blue light. He heard Catherine jump into the river. Before he was able to stand up completely Sylar hit him with a ball of lightning, bouncing him several feet back.

Sylar's hunger started to rear once again as he walked towards Edgar. Edgar got to his feet. He darted straight at Sylar surprising him, for that was the last thing he assumed Edgar would do, knocking Sylar sideways and then was gone.

Sylar turned his attention to the river. He couldn't see Catherine so he dove into the river to search for her.

Edgar had stopped a few miles away and cautiously made his way back. He saw Sylar dive into the river. He waited. He never saw him surface. He naturally became suspicious and started making is way down the river bank.

Gabriel finally caught up with Catherine. They swam for a short time before she started to tire. They emerged from the water and sat on the river's edge. Catherine had acquired a few more wounds from the fall she had taken with Edgar. She had a gash in her hairline and a huge scrape on her shoulder that could be seen through a rip in Gabriel's tee shirt. She could also feel multiple bruises.

She looked up at him and fell into his warm chest and began to cry. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight. Her skin was cold. He knew she wouldn't be able to handle the rivers cold water any longer.

Gabriel was not aware of Edgar watching them through the trees on the opposite side of the river. Edgar's suspicions about them had been correct. He was waiting for the right moment to dash across the water and snatch Catherine and speed back to Safe Haven. It had to be within seconds.

Gabriel pulled Catherine up to her feet. "I can fly us out of here." He said to her as she continued to sob. "I know you may not be up for this, but I'm afraid we have no other alternative."

She let go of his arms to wipe away her tears. Gabriel felt a gust of wind and saw a blur of movement. He blinked and Catherine was gone. He turned toward the direction of the moving branches and screamed, manipulating the sound waves again, but Edgar was too far gone.

The rain started to pick up again. He looked up into the gray sky feeling the cold rain pelt his face and run through his hair. Then he flew off.


	11. Money, Revenge and Love

Money, Revenge and Love

Catherine could see nothing but a blur all around her. She shut her eyes so the rushing of the wind didn't dry them out. They stopped outside glass double doors that led into a building that she thought resembled a hospital. Her hair came to rest past her shoulders and her cheeks stung a bit. Her legs felt wobbly when Edgar sat her on her bare and freezing feet.

He lead her inside. "You're at Safe Haven now." He said to her, "I'm to take you to one of the holding rooms."

She felt panicked. She planted her feet flat on the floor and tried to jerk her body free of his grip, but his hands just tightened around her arms and he forced her forward without much difficulty, so she stopped struggling. It seemed pointless and she was too tired to fight anymore.

They got in an elevator and made their way down to the holding rooms. He brought her to a metal door with an electronic key pad on the outside. He put a card into it and she heard several heavy locks echo as they moved. The door swung slowly open.

The inside of the room had a bed and a small side table with three drawers. There was a clock mounted to the wall and in the corner was a toilet and a sink. She noticed also a small black dome in the center of the ceiling which she assumed was a monitoring camera.

"This is a cell! I'm a prisoner?" She whirled around yanking herself out of his hands.

"No, love. You're bait." He started to walk out when he turned and said. "I'll be returning with some water and something to clean up those wounds you have. Is there anything else I can get you? Some tea perhaps?"

Catherine found his question and politeness astonishing considering he just kidnapped her. "A blueberry bagel, toasted with lots of cream cheese. Oh, and maybe some shoes would be nice." She said with thick sarcasm.

Edgar returned thirty minutes later wheeling a cart into her cell with a bottle of water, a first aid kit, slippers, tea and her bagel made exactly the way she had requested. She didn't think he would actually bring it.

"I thought you might like some tea after all." He said with a friendly smile.

He began cleaning the gash on her head. Catherine noticed he was about the same height as her and he was quite muscular. His hair was short and his facial hair was carefully groomed. His smoky blue eyes looked kind and thoughtful. After a few minutes of awkward silence she said, "You must think I'm an awful person."

"Should I?" He asked making eye contact with her.

She quickly looked away. "I'm in love with a monster, a murderer. Everyone must think I'm out of my mind." Even she did.

He moved behind her to clean the scrape on her shoulder blade. "It's none of my business, really, who you're in love with." He started opening a bandage to put on her shoulder. "We've all done things we're not particularly proud of. Take me for instance. I'm working with this lot and believe me, they can be pretty bloody awful." He finished dressing her wound and removed the latex gloves he was wearing.

"If you think they're so awful, why work for them?"

"Money. They're paying me a ridiculous amount of it. People can be quite driven by different things. Money, revenge …and love." He looked away from her as he started gathering up the medical supplies. "People will do almost anything for them." He was starting to regret his decision, considering Noah and Sylar were both driven by their emotions. Crimes of passion didn't often end well.

She watched him as he started to wheel the cart out of the room. "I'll give you some time. I'll be back soon to take you to the shower facilities and give you some clean clothes. Enjoy the tea." He smiled and left.

Sylar landed about a mile away from Safe Haven and walked the rest of the way. He didn't want to bring attention to himself by flying in for anyone to see. The rain had finally stopped, but the sky was still heavy with overcast. He started walking through the parking lot when a few rows over he saw a security guard getting out of his car. He came up behind him without a sound.

"Excuse me. Do you have the time?" He asked as friendly as he could.

When the guard turned around Sylar punched him in the face. He grabbed the guard by his hair and slammed his head against the car knocking him out cold. He laid him across the seats and stripped him of his uniform and quickly changed into it. He reached down and dabbed his finger in the mans blood that had come from his nose and rubbed it in between his finger and thumb. He shape shifted into the security guard.

When he walked into the building he saw that the entrance was like a huge atrium. There was a fountain in the center and large potted topiaries and flowers all around. The second floor was open, so that you could look down into the atrium over a wooden railing that wrapped around the top. The second floor also had large plants and potted trees surrounding the area. It was a beautiful setting. There were two other security guards inside. One greeted him.

"Hey Mike." He said clapping him on the shoulder. "How's your dad doing?"

"He made it through the surgery well and they say he'll make a full recovery." Luckily for Sylar, when he put Mike's wedding ring on he picked up on this information.

"Well, that's great news, glad to her it." The other man said.

"Thanks Kevin, that means a lot. I'll see ya in a few." He walked away in the direction he would normally go to report in for the afternoon.

He rounded the corner and walked into a large office with a woman sitting behind a desk with a large computer monitoring system.

"Oh, hey Mike. Good afternoon?" She thought he looked concerned about something. "Is everything okay?"

The door shut behind him. "No Amanda, I'm afraid it's not." He threw a hand out, pulling her out of her chair and up against the wall. She opened her mouth to scream but he silenced her by forcing her mouth shut.

"SSSHHHHH," he said with a finger to his lips.

He sat down to try to access Catherine's whereabouts when he started to feel light headed. He assumed maybe it was all the adrenaline zooming through his system but, then it got worse. He starting feeling dizzy, so dizzy that he couldn't focus on the screens in front of him. His head felt heavy. His vision went blurry. He felt intoxicated, drunk.

He turned and looked at Amanda. "What are you doing to me?" His voice sounded low and his speech was slurred.

He tried to stand, but fell back into the chair and slid halfway out of it to the floor. He couldn't control two powers at once any more so his form changed back into Sylar. He was struggling to keep his hold on Amanda. He tried again to stand and walk around the front of desk, but stumbled, knocking over and spilling several items onto the floor.

Amanda slid down the wall, she was free. She triggered the security alarm. Sylar, still unable to keep his balance, dropped to his hands and knees. His hands rolled over a few pencils, causing his arms to fly out from under him and his face to hit the floor. As he lay with his head turned to the side he saw something shimmer on the floor. It appeared to be a letter opener with a jeweled handle.

He reached out and curled his fingers around it, gripping it tight in his fist. Amanda stepped around next to him with a few zip ties to bind him with. Sylar swung his arm around, stabbing her deep in the thigh. She yelled out in pain, grabbing the letter opener sticking out of her leg. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down to the floor to his level. Her concentration was interrupted as he had hoped and he started to feel somewhat sober. He was able to force her down with telekinesis once again. He ran out of the room sparing her life, but only because he didn't have the time to waste on killing her. If they crossed paths again soon, the story may be different.

Gaining back his sobriety, he electrocuted the security cameras as he made his way down the hall and up the stairwell. When he got to the second floor landing he cloned himself and ordered the clone to open the door from the stairwell first. It was a wise decision. Flames bellowed around the clone, destroying it to a mist.

"Sophie." Sylar said to himself. He stepped through the doorway with his hand out rendering her immobile, only it wasn't Sophie. It was a young man. Young and inexperienced. It was a shame his life was about to come to an abrupt end, Sylar thought as he slit his throat. He dropped him in a heap to bleed to death on the floor.

Noah was talking into an earpiece drilling out instructions. "I want to bring him out in the open to the atrium. Edgar. Be ready for my word."

Peter was walking along side Noah wondering why he had agreed to this ludicrous idea. He felt sick to his stomach. He was disappointed in himself. He should have stood his ground about it.

They made their way to the atrium with Rene, Alarric and several others behind them. "Hold your positions." Noah instructed.

Meanwhile, more were trying to subdue Sylar upstairs. He could hear them coming up from behind him. He made four clones which weren't able to acquire the abilities he had but they would make for a good physical distraction. He turned and saw two men and one woman heading for him. They were all armed. They began firing at every Sylar they saw. He struggled to keep the clones in form as the bullets zipped through them. A few bullets hit Sylar himself and he stumbled backwards but was able to stay on his feet. With a quick motion of his hand, he pulled the guns away from the two men. He caught one and shot the woman twice in the chest. The other gun flew passed him down the hall. The four clones went for the other two men. One was easily wrangled up by two of the clones. As they held him Sylar pointed his finger and slashed through his abdomen. Blood oozed down his body and his insides bulged from the wound. Sylar lifted him into the air and flung him over the railing down into the fountain below. The other two clones where struggling with the last man. Sylar held out his hand and began to strangle him. Then he heard Peter's voice.

"Sylar!" Sylar's head shot in the direction of the atrium where Peter's voice obviously came from.

Peter saw the man in the fountain drowning in his own blood that surrounded him in the water. "Sylar this isn't necessary. No one needs to die." He yelled out, looking along the railing above him.

"You're right, no one needs to die." Sylar stepped closer to the open area of the atrium loosening his grip on the man he had intended to strangle. "All of this could have been avoided if you would have left me the fuck alone!" His voice increasing with anger and volume as he spoke. He stepped out of the shadows and peered down at Peter. "Didn't your mommy ever tell you to let sleeping dogs lie?" He said mockingly.

Edgar woke Catherine, "Come on. We need to go. He's come for you."

She jumped to her feet sliding into the slippers. Her heart was racing with anticipation. She was worried Gabriel or Sylar, whoever he was now, might kill someone else.

He brought her up to the ground floor and stopped just before the entrance to the atrium. She could her Gabriel's voice now. She tried to move forward to see, but Edgar held her back. "Not yet."

Noah held up his hands. "Just surrender to us Sylar and we let Catherine go. It's that simple."

"Why do I need to surrender to you? Up until very recently, I have done NOTHING…" He paused trying to collect his composure. "nothing since my earlier escapades, which we had agreed we had moved on from." He continued looking now at Peter.

"We need you to let us experiment on you." Noah said.

Sylar rolled his eyes. "Oh, here we go again. You want to render me powerless. Then what?"

"Then we let you go."

Sylar began to laugh. "That's a lie. You want to kill me."

"Yes, I do want to kill you," Noah admitted. "but I'm not going to."

"Why not?" He shrugged. "That's what I would do."

"Well, I'm not like you, Sylar."

"Yes, you are, Noah. You're just a weaker, powerless version of me."

"Edgar." Peter said having Edgar bring Catherine out from behind them so she was visible to Sylar. They both stood next to Noah.

When Sylar saw her he tried not to show much concern. He paced along the railing. "Who else is involved?"

"Angela, Suresh…"

Sylar cut Noah off. "Suresh has tried to kill me before. What's to say he won't try this time, once I'm unable to regenerate. Hypothetically speaking."

"He won't. I'll personally see to it."

Sylar slammed his fist down on the wooden railing. "Another lie. You're right Noah, you're not like me. I don't lie nearly as much as you do."

Noah turned and looked behind him. "I've had enough. Rene."

Sylar saw the Haitian step into view. His clones disappeared when Rene turned off his abilities, along with everyone else's. The man the clones where holding came towards him, punching Sylar in the jaw. He swayed backwards and then caught his balance again. Then he punched Sylar in the stomach. He hunched forward feeling like he was going to vomit. The man grabbed Sylar's arms, pulling them around his back and holding him there.

"That's why Sandra left you. All the lies." Sylar smiled down at Noah with blood dripping from his mouth. "And your Claire." His chuckle echoed around the atrium. "Tell me, does Lyle call much?"

Noah pulled his gun out from the holster under his jacket and shot Catherine in the stomach, then immediately shot Edgar in the hip. Even without use of his ability, Edgar still had extremely sharp reflexes. He knew Edgar would try to play the hero and could easily take him down. Edgar fell to the ground, taking Catherine with him because she was wrapped in his arms.

Edgar looked up at Noah. "Are you bloody mad?"

"Noah!" Peter yelled. Noah aimed his gun at Peter now, stopping him from coming towards him.

Noah looked up at Sylar who was gaping down at Catherine in shock. Noah could see real pain on his face now and it made him smile.

Alarric held up his gun and aimed it at Noah. "What the fuck have you done!" He screamed. "You said you wouldn't let anything happen to her." He started to walk towards Noah still aiming his gun at him and was about to shoot. But, Noah shot him first without taking his eyes off Sylar. He pointed his gun back at Peter.

Peter's hands flew up to his head. "Jesus Christ, Noah." He said looking down at Alarric.

"Catherine." Sylar said. His eyes where spilling over with tears.

"How does it feel? Seeing someone you love hurt by someone you can't stop." Noah said to him remembering how Sylar had terrorized Claire. Sylar was also partly to blame for his failed marriage, therefore ruining his life. "I can get her to a healer, Sylar. Just give yourself up to us and I'll see that she lives."

Catherine coughed and blood started to seep out of her mouth. Edgar held her close, wondering how they would get her to a healer fast enough. When Rene turned his ability off, he wouldn't be able to run.

"She's running out of time, Sylar." Noah yelled up to him.

Sylar dropped to his knees. He rested his forehead against the ground and began to weep. For the first time, he was surrendering. Finally broken.

"Who's weak and powerless now…Gabriel." Noah said in a snide sort of tone.

Rene, along with several others came running up to where Sylar and the man holding him were. They cuffed him and pushed him off toward the lower levels to the cells.

Peter walked over to Edgar and touched his arm to borrow his ability. "We have some things to work out when I get back." He said to Noah just before he took off out the door with Catherine in his arms.


	12. Giving In

Giving In

Peter got to the healer's home within a few minutes. She was always available on short notice, so he was confident she would be there.

"Bring her in." The old woman said holding the door open. "Lay her there, on the island counter." She pointed to a large marble island in the center of her kitchen.

She walked up next to her a placed her hands on her. The wounds started to heal almost instantly. "She's lucky you got her here in time. What happened?"

Pacing the floor and running his fingers through his hair Peter said, "Noah, he's out of control."

She looked at him with a regretful expression. "Noah did this?"

She had always reminded Peter of his grandmother. Her grey hair pulled into a bun on top of her head, her old eyes full of love and wisdom. He explained to her the situation that had occurred at Safe Haven.

"I can't say I'm surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised. Noah's a good man, he's just lost his way." She said.

Peter walked over and hugged her tight. "Thank you Lucinda. You're one of the only people left I know I can count on."

She smiled at him.

Catherine started to cough and opened her eyes. She saw Peter who she recognized, but didn't know the old woman. She tried to sit up. "Gabriel?" She sounded weak and tired.

"Gabriel. Who's Gabriel?" Lucinda asked.

"She means Sylar. Gabriel is his given name."

She looked down at Catherine who had closed her eyes again. "Oh my. So this is her?" Lucinda had wondered who the woman was brave enough to love Sylar. "Well, you'd better get her back. She'll need to sleep a few hours and then she should be good as new."

Peter picked Catherine up and Lucinda walked him to the door. "And for heaven's sake be careful." She said just before Peter ran off.

They sat Sylar down in a chair and tied his wrists and ankles to its arms and legs. Rene pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Sylar so he could look at him eye to eye.

"We will need, at times, for you to demonstrate the full power of your abilities, one at a time. I will be here for some of them and others times not. However, at anytime, if you do not give us your fullest cooperation , I will make a visit to Catherine Monroe."

Sylar's expression went from angry to apprehensive. He looked at Rene and listened intently to his warning. He knew the Haitian's words where sound.

"I will take her fond memories of you as her trusting companion and friend and leave her with only the memories of the dangerous killer that you are. She not only will see you as a stranger, but she will hate and fear you."

Rene rested his arms on his knees leaning in closer. "You will be alone once again, with no one to care for you or love you, just what you fear most."

Sylar remembered how Hiro had told him he would die alone with no one to mourn his passing. Those words truly haunted him. Lydia had also seen his fear of eternal loneliness.

"I want to know she's alive." Sylar said in agreement.

"Fair enough." Rene stood and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. After a brief moment he began to speak into the phone. "I have explained the consequences and he has requested to know that Catherine is alive." He paused. "Yes, that will be fine." He put the phone back in his pocket. Turning back to Sylar he said, "They will bring her down soon. The meeting will be brief."

Catherine was resting and doing well when Peter came to collect her.

"You are free to go now. But first, Sylar would like to see that you're alive. I thought it was a reasonable request on his part." Peter said to her.

Catherine agreed and they made their way down to the holding rooms. Peter opened the door and walked her in. Rene, Noah and two others where in the room. Sylar was still tied to the chair. His lip was swollen and split open with dried blood on his mouth and chin. He had bandage tape on the inside of his arms. She assumed they must have been drawing blood from him. There was a metal cart full of syringes, vials of blood and various other medical supplies.

Catherine looked at Sylar and then at Peter. Peter nodded his head giving her permission to go to him. She stepped toward Sylar and kneeled down in front of him.

"Are you hurt? Are you healed?" He asked her.

"No and yes. I'm fine." She answered touching his face. "You're not healing."

"The Haitian." Sylar's eyes moved to Rene. "He can turn off other people's abilities."

Catherine took a quick glance at Rene.

"Catherine, it's time to go." Peter said.

Catherine laid her forehead against Sylar's and said, "I hate that I love you." Then she kissed him.

Though it pained him as much as it pleased him to hear her say that, he understood why she felt that way and he kissed her back.

Peter stepped over and tugged on Catherine's arm. "I'm sorry, it's time."

Catherine started to pull her mouth away from him to stand up, but Sylar leaned toward her in attempt to make their kiss linger as long as possible. He looked down at the floor as they left. He didn't want to watch her go.

Peter and Catherine sat in silence in the car as Peter drove her home. Peter looked over at her. She looked tired and distraught.

"Things are going to be okay." Peter cringed thinking to himself that that was a stupid thing that to say.

Catherine gave a quick laugh. "I guess they will. I just don't know when." She leaned her head against the window, watching the trees go by. "I've lost my car and probably my job, I can't really put into words what else I've lost."

"I can locate your car and I can help explain things to the people you work for."

She looked doubtfully over at him.

"The Petrelli name has a lot of leverage behind it." He smiled at her.

"Thank you." She said. "How's Edgar? He was shot too, wasn't he?"

"He's fine. He got a visit from Lucinda. Without her help he could have ended up with permanent damage to his hip. I don't know if you're aware that Alarric was also shot, in the shoulder. He is also doing fine."

"Oh, God! Good, that's good." Catherine felt ill knowing that three men have had been hurt on because of her.

Several hours after Peter had dropped her off at her apartment, he returned with her car. He had also provided her with a bogus police report and medical records showing she had been involved in an accident with a dangerous 'special', so she could present it to her place of work to explain her absence.

"Thank you for all your help, Peter." She said.

"It's not a problem. It's part of my job. If things don't work out with your job, just give me a call. I can help you find work. I have a lot of connections." He winked at her and handed her a card with all his contact information. Then he turned and ran off.

She walked over to her car and opened the trunk. She new that Gabriel's bag and other things were still there. She carried everything inside.

She stared at his duffle bag for a few moments before deciding to open it. When she did she saw all the normal items she expected. Clothes, shoes, toothbrush, shaving cream and so on. Then she saw the rectangular wooden box from his bedroom. She opened it and dumped the broken watch into her hand.

After a week of shuffling around and doing mostly nothing, Catherine's laundry was really piling up. She went into her closet and gathered up clothes to take to the apartment laundry mat in the basement. She was pleased to find it empty and all the machines were unoccupied. She started to separate the laundry when she came across some of Gabriel's clothes. There was an olive green hooded sweatshirt among them. He wore it frequently. She held it up and brought it close to her face. It still smelled like him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a man's voice. "Excuse me, Catherine?"

She looked over her shoulder expecting to see one of her neighbors, but instead saw Edgar. She took a few steps back. "Edgar! What are you doing here?" She asked in alarm, a little nervous as to why he was there.

He put his hands up. "Calm down. I'm not here to kidnap you or anything."

"Then why are you here?"

"I came to see how you were. I went to your apartment and Sophie told me to look for you here."

Catherine turned back to her laundry. She folded the sweatshirt deciding not to wash it just yet.

"You were shot and dying in my arms the last time I saw you." He continued to explain. "I had to see if you were alright."

"You could have asked Peter." She responded without turning around, still working on her laundry.

"Alright then. I'll be on my way." Edgar said, catching her hint. He started his way up the steps.

Catherine felt guilty for being so cold. She and Sophie weren't talking much since she got back and even though she was welcomed back to work, the people there didn't act very welcoming. She could really use someone to talk to who would understand a little of what she was going through. Plus, maybe she could get some details out of Edgar about Gabriel.

She went after him. "Edgar, wait." He stopped at the top of the steps. "I'm sorry." He turned and looked at her. "You wanna maybe grab some coffee or tea or whatever? I mean, after I'm done here."

Edgar found it curious that she would ask him out for coffee, nor did he expect anything of the sort. But he excepted anyway.

Sylar felt the past several days of medical tests and exams they were running on him were quite unnecessary, but he didn't question any of it. He had no choice but to remain a model patient. They were no longer restraining him because Rene was still present. At night he was sedated and strapped down in a bed. Finally, Rene, Noah and two guards had brought him to a huge lab where Mohinder Suresh was waiting for him.

"Hello Sylar." Mohinder said. His tone didn't mirror the politeness of his words. "Please have a seat here for me." He pointed to a steel chair with leather restraints attached to it, but they were not applied to him.

Mohinder walked over with a medical chart, scribbling across it as he spoke. "Today should be generally easy for you, although I can't say the same will be true for the rest of your time here.

"I'll need you to list for me all of your abilities and then I'll need you to demonstrate them. To ensure you aren't withholding any known abilities from us, I will have Monica present, who can detect whether or not you are lying."

Sylar chuckled and looked at him with a wide smile. "You know me well."

Mohinder did not return the smile. "Unfortunately."

He gestured toward the two way mirror. A middle aged woman entered the room and stood next to Mohinder. "Rene, turn off your ability for a few moments please." The guards in the room all aimed their weapons at Sylar. He found this amusing, knowing they couldn't stop him, not really. "You may begin listing your abilities." He said with his pen to the paper.

"Lie detection," he cocked an eyebrow at Monica. "alchemy, underwater breathing, electric manipulation, flight…" he continued lazily until he named them all.

"Monica, would you please?" Mohinder asked her. She looked at Sylar and swallowed hard. He could hear her fearful, pounding heart.

Mohinder then directed his attention to Sylar. "You have sixteen acquired abilities. Is this correct?"

"Yes."

"Your true, original ability is intuitive aptitude. Is this correct?"

"Yes"

"You have learned to collect abilities through empathy as well as through deadly force. Is this correct?"

Sylar hesitated. Mohinder repeated, "Is this correct?"

"Yes." He finally answered.

Mohinder looked over at the woman. "Monica?"

"I detect no lies. He's telling the truth."

"Good. Thank you. You may go." Mohinder said as he scribbled on Sylar's chart.

"Let's begin with the demonstrations." He suggested. "I'll name the ability and then you perform the action necessary to display it. The underwater breathing will be done last as we need to relocate for it."

Several hours later, Mohinder had decided on a few formulas he wanted to start with. He wanted to concentrate on the non threatening abilities first, but of course leaving rapid cell regeneration, or self healing, for last if possible. He walked over to Sylar with the first of many injections and injected it like a typical vaccine.

"Just like old times." Sylar said to him.

Mohinder punched him in the face breaking his nose. "Don't speak to me unless I ask you to." Mohinder warned him. "You are my fathers murderer. The only reason I haven't and won't kill you is to honor Peter's request not to. Although I don't understand it."

Not long after that, Peter came into the lab with a package, requesting to speak with Sylar. As he sat down in front of him he noticed his swollen and broken nose. He looked back at Mohinder. "I'd like a private word with Sylar if you don't mind."

Mohinder nodded. "Of course." And he left the room.

Peter addressed Rene, Noah and the guards. "If you don't mind stepping out as well, and Rene if you could turn off your power long enough for him to heal please."

"Are you certain?" Rene asked in concern.

"Yes, I'll be fine."

Sylar's face began to heal like magic as he adjusted his nose in the reflection of the two way mirror. "You want to hit me too?" He asked Peter. "Because now would be a great time for me."

"It's tempting, but no." Peter handed him the package, which had already been opened. "Catherine sent you something."

Sylar looked at Peter questioningly. Peter held the package out further, urging him to take it. He did finally and looked inside. It was his old watch in the wooden box. Their was also a piece of stationary folded in half with his name, Gabriel, written across it. He flipped it open and it read, "Hope this helps you to remember who you are, especially when you're with me. I love you. Catherine."

"I thought I'm not allowed personal items?" He asked Peter.

"I'll allow it for the time being. Your cooperation hasn't gone unnoticed."

"Well, no one else seems to have noticed. I've done something horrible to just about everyone here. Including you." He looked at Peter. "Why are you protecting me?"

"I'm not protecting you as much as doing what I think is the right thing. I know you've done terrible things. I've also had the unfortunate experience of being inside your head. And, I know forgiveness is the only way to truly move on with my life."

"I'm not deserving of forgiveness." He said almost to himself.

"You have a chance to save yourself, Sylar. You're the only one who can."

Peter stood to leave. "I'm done here." He said to the two way mirror.

Everyone started filing back into the lab when Peter stopped Noah. "You need to come with me."

As Peter and Noah made their way down the hall, Noah started to plead with him.

"I only did what needed to be done. It was the only way to get him to surrender. How can you not see that?"

Peter stopped at the elevator and pushed the button. "You shot three innocent people, Noah. At point blank range and you threatened to shoot me." The doors opened, welcoming them inside.

"I should have you locked in one of our holding rooms. But, I can't justify that when I gave you the go ahead on this asinine plan."

The elevator doors opened at their destination. "This asinine plan has Sylar downstairs, willingly let us break him down. Explain to me how that's not a good thing." Then he said to himself, "And that monster loving whore is hardly innocent."

They made their way into Peter's office. "I'm suspending you." Peter said.

"Suspending me? You can't do that." Noah was usually the one to make those kinds of decisions for Peter.

"The hell I can't."

Noah just stood there, unable to think of anything to say.

"You have twenty minutes to collect your personal belongings and to turn in your badge and keys."

"For how long?" Noah asked.

"Four months." Peter replied. "Return to my office before you leave and I'll have some forms for you to sign."

As a result of the injections, Sylar was feeling extremely ill. He had vomited multiple times, was sweating and had lost most of the color in his face. He was in agony. However, the formula was working. When Mohinder asked him to turn the silver chains into gold, he no longer could.

Mohinder said to him, "We're making good progress so far." Sylar just glared at him from under his brow. "I'll give you an hour to clean yourself up and hydrate. Then we will proceed."

In just two months time they had successfully dispelled eight abilities from Sylar. The illness he was feeling from the injections was subsiding. The only major problem they ran into was the enhanced hearing. For reasons unknown, it caused sounds to become unbearable to Sylar. At times, the sounds would become so intense that his ears would bleed as he writhed around, pressing his hands to his ears and crying in pain. His damaged ear drums would repair themselves over and over again until the ability was finally gone.

Now it was time to move on to the more threatening and defensive abilities. Rene had spent all the time he could, so Peter borrowed his ability in case it would be needed.

During this time, Catherine was struggling with her own issues. She had come home one evening to see several men moving all of Gabriel's things out of his apartment. When she had asked them what was going on, they simply told her Peter Petrelli had ordered his things be transferred to storage and his lease canceled. She and Sophie never really patched up their friendship. They remained friendly but they didn't spend much time together. Her parents had died years ago and her only brother lived in Canada with his family. It was no surprise that she and Edgar had become fast friends. She loved hearing about his childhood in England and his travels around the world. He had helped her with a few odds and ends and she would cook him dinner in return. She loved having someone to cook for again. She didn't enjoy it when she had no one to share her meals with. This time Edgar had come over to fix a minor problem with the engine in her car. He was quite the handy man.

After dinner, indulging in several beers each and much conversation Catherine said, "Thank you, Edgar. For helping me out with this car situation."

"Well, the payment was hard to refuse." He said referring to the food, he had supplied the drink. He walked into the kitchen. "Would you like another?" He asked grabbing two more out of the fridge. When he shut the door he saw her standing there. He handed her a bottle.

She twisted the cap off and took a drink. "You have really been a good friend. You've done a lot for me."

Leaning against the stove he said, "I haven't done that much." He thought all the cooking she had done didn't even compare to the few small things he had done.

She stepped closer to him. She reached out her hand and let her fingers glide over his chest and stomach. His shirt hugged his muscular physique beautifully, she couldn't help herself. He didn't move, he just looked at her lovely face.

She stood so close to him now that her breasts where pressed against him. Her lips where just an inch from his. He leaned his head back some. "Catherine." He said as he took her by her arms and pushed her back a step.

"Edgar, please." She said softly. "I need you. I've been so lonely." She leaned in again and rubbed the inside of her thigh against his knee. He turned his head away from her enticing mouth and she breathed heavily on his neck. He felt himself grow hard, making it uncomfortably tight in his jeans.

"You want me to take advantage of you? Sleep with you out of pity? Is that it?" He was a little baffled by her sudden forwardness.

"No." She looked at him pleadingly. "I just want you to touch me, make me feel something other then this numbness." She pressed her lips softly against his. When he didn't respond she lightly swept her tongue across his mouth. He leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't the hard, angry kiss that she had grown used to, but soft and gentle.

She took his hand and placed it on her hip trying to encourage him to touch her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. She slipped her tongue past his lips, into his mouth. He followed her lead and kissed her harder. She brought her arms up around his strong shoulders and ran her fingers through his hair.

He abruptly pulled away from her. "What? What is it?" She asked slightly out of breath.

"Well, it's just that I fancy my head in one piece. You know what I mean?" He wanted badly to give in to her seduction, but the idea of Sylar finding out kept dominating his thoughts.

"Edgar, we haven't heard anything about him in months." She said desperately trying to calm his fears. "If and when they let him go, he'll probably be a normal man."

"A normal man can still murder, Catherine." He said.

She sighed. "Okay." She dropped her arms from around his neck. "I understand. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have put you in such a compromising position."

He looked at her as she backed away from him. Here was this beautiful woman, begging him to make love to her and he wouldn't because he was scared of another man. The same man that had slept with the woman he loved on more then one occasion. Lydia had never truly been his, but it still stung. Sleeping with Catherine would be like revenge. An eye for an eye. Hell, Catherine wanted to use him, so he decided to let her.

He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her onto the counter. He started to kiss her again and she welcomed his eagerness. She tugged his shirt off. A few of the empty beer bottles on the counter where knocked over, one hit the floor and broke. Neither of them cared. He unbuttoned her pants, sliding them off with her panties. She wrapped her bare legs around his waist. Reaching down, she unzipped his jeans and pulled him out of his boxers. She guided him into her already wet warmth. Both still half dressed, he began to move inside of her. He was so gentle and tender in his love making, it made her crave more. She reached around and tried to pull him into her. He readjusted their position so he was able to give her the penetration she craved.

It was over fairly quickly and although he gave her the physical pleasure she was wanting, she still didn't feel fulfilled. There was no sense of urgency in his kiss, no burning desire in his touch, they had no real passion between them. He didn't make her feel desired the way Gabriel did.

She didn't regret what had just happened, but it did make her realize just how much she still missed Gabriel and how much she wanted him back no matter how many times she tried to tell herself she didn't. She thought maybe sleeping with Edgar would help her move on from him, but instead it did the opposite.

She wasn't completely aware of it, but Catherine was really good at speaking with her eyes. Edgar knew what she was feeling. After they had dressed he said, "I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you were looking for."

"Yes, you did, Edgar. You made me feel loved." Which wasn't a lie.

"I can stay if you'd like." He offered.

"Maybe it would be better if you didn't."

He agreed with her and gathered his things.

"Let me know how the car is running for you." He said as he opened the door to leave.

"Thank you, Edgar." She hugged him.

He kissed her forehead and said. "Bye. I'll talk to you soon."

After he left she cleaned up the dishes and took a shower. She was in her room getting dressed when she realized her necklace that Gabriel had given to her was not around her neck. She new she had it on when she climbed into bed last night because she had admired it in the mirror. She went to the bed and ran her hands along the sheets, under the pillows and got on her hands and knees and looked under the bed and around the floor. She looked in the bathroom, the kitchen, everywhere she could have thought she dropped it. She figured she would call Edgar later on and see if she possibly dropped it in his car or if it fell in with his stuff, though she doubted it. She felt so distraught over the necklace she was close to tears. Now, Gabriel felt farther away then ever before.


	13. Facing the Truth

Facing the Truth

It seemed the more defensive or complex the abilities, the more difficult they were to dispel and the harder it was for Sylar to control them once injected with a formula. He had to be given more injections more frequently and as a result had become ill again. Of the eight acquired abilities left, all had their problems. Most were minimal, except for a few.

Shape shifting caused some alarm. Just minutes after the first injection was given, Sylar began to randomly and uncontrollably shape shift into various people.

Rene was no longer present and Peter wasn't in the lab all too often, so Mohinder had been restraining Sylar to his chair with the leather restraints. Mohinder was startled when he turned around and saw Danko vomiting into the bucket at his feet. Then when his head came back up, he was Sylar once more.

Angela came into the lab to check on their progress and to see where she could possibly manipulate things, as usual. She walked in and saw Sylar's pale face damp with sweat and looking like death, vomit on his shirt and feet.

"Still no immunity to the side effects I see." She assumed.

"No." Mohinder confirmed.

Angela turned to walk towards Sylar, but instead saw Nathan strapped to the chair. Her hands flew up to her mouth as she screamed at the vision of her deceased son. Then Nathan melted away and was replaced by Sandra Bennet.

"I'm sorry." Mohinder said to her. "I should have warned you. It's a side effect as well. I don't quite understand why, but some abilities he loses control of completely before they're gone."

"Have you tried sedating him?"

"Yes, but the formula doesn't work as well when he's compromised. It takes longer."

"He has had full use of his powers this whole time?" Angela was horrified at the thought.

"Most of the time, yes." Mohinder said without concern.

She braved another look over at him. This time he was himself again. He leaned over and retched into the bucket again.

"I can hardly believe he's actually cooperating." She said.

Mohinder gave a quick sarcastic laugh and said, "I can hardly believe his reason for cooperating is because he's actually capable of loving someone."

Electric manipulation was by far the most painful to dispel. After the first injection everything was going well, even his sickness was starting to wane. Mohinder was becoming confident that he was finally grasping a complete understanding of how to administer the multiple injections properly. However, two days later he began to quickly doubt his new found confidence when Sylar's hands started to spark, shocking not only himself, but anyone standing too close to him. Over the hours of that day, the electricity began to surge through Sylar in waves. He would suddenly light up, streaks of lightening dancing and crackling off of him from head to toe.

There seemed to be anywhere from fifteen to sixty minutes in between the surging waves. Quickly as they could, they removed his restraints and moved him into his cell, isolating him, since he had no control over the electricity. All he could do was lay on the hard, cold floor waiting for the next surge. He knew when it was coming. All the hair on his body would stand on end, his teeth and jaw would ache and he could smell it. But he could do nothing to prepare for the pain that came next. His screams could be heard all over the basement of the building. No one enjoyed the sound of it. Even Mohinder felt pity for him. He offered to relieve his suffering a bit with sedation and Peter offered to turn his power off for a time, but Sylar refused. He knew it would only prolong the agonizing experience and just wanted it to be over as quickly as possible.

In between the surges, he thought of Catherine. More now then ever before. It was the only comfort he had, the only thing to help him cope. At some point, he fell asleep on the floor, the first real sleep he had had in days. After he awoke, the surges never returned and the ability was gone.

Telekinesis didn't cause any havoc, but just proved difficult to eliminate. It took almost two weeks to dispel completely. It would disappear, only to return again within twelve hours or so. The good news for Sylar was that he was finally gaining an immunity to the illness the formulas where causing. His complexion looked healthy again and he had no more nausea.

The time had finally come to strip Sylar of rapid cell regeneration, the last of the acquired abilities. Everyone had been looking forward to this day. He would no longer be indestructible or immortal. The old Sylar would have been dreading this moment, terrified at the thought. But this Sylar, Gabriel, was ready to be rid of it. He could live a normal life, with Catherine. He thought about Claire. This must have been how she had felt wanting a normal life. He never understood it until now.

After a few days of slicing his own arm time and time again, watching his skin quickly mend itself back together, he finally continued to bleed from the gash that remained open, needing to be mended with stitches. Soon, he would be free of his own ability, free from his hunger. He was looking forward to not having thoughts of heinous cruelty plague his mind.

Noah was anticipating his return to work in the next few days. He had done some traveling in his time away. He had visited his son, Lyle for a bit. But, mostly he was lonely with only his thoughts for company. He thought a lot about the things Peter had said to him. He knew Peter was right. He sat at his dining room table eating Japanese take out, chuckling about memories of Hiro, hoping that all was well with him. He looked over at the picture on his bookshelf. The beautiful smile and the sparkling green eyes of the one woman that he could never stop loving.

He walked over to his phone and scrolled through the numbers. He had gone through these motions many times before but was never brave enough to finish them. He dialed the number, not expecting her to answer his call. His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach at the sound of her voice. His first instinct was to press the end button, but he resisted the cowardly action.

"Hello? Dad?" The lovely voice rang in his ears, swelling him with emotion. It had been too long.

He swallowed his fear and replied in a shaky voice, "Hello Claire-bear."

"So, we're having the same issue as with the Telekinesis?" Peter asked, slightly confused.

"No. I at least could see changes in examinations, brain activity, blood work and so on. But now…" Mohinder scratched his head. "There's nothing. No changes what so ever."

"Well, maybe the formula isn't right for this ability. It is one of the rarest."

"I've tried everything within my capabilities. I think it may be because it is a natural occurring ability."

Peter furrowed his brow, not comprehending.

"All the other abilities were taken, learned, they weren't his to begin with. I think the formulas just caused him to, 'unlearn' them, so to speak."

"How do you know this for sure? Have you had him try to take an ability from someone?"

"No. Not yet. I know because of how he is reacting, or not reacting rather, to the injections."

"Well, lets bring someone in with a reasonably non-threatening ability and see if he can learn it." Peter suggested.

Mohinder gaped at him, astounded that he would suggest something that could be potently life threatening. "Do you think that's wise?"

"He can do it without killing, and besides he's pretty harmless now, we can stop him if needed." He walked over to the phone and pressed a few buttons. "Alarric. Can you meet me down in the lab?" He turned to look at Sylar who was oblivious to the current conversation. "Don't worry about it, it shouldn't take long."

Alarric arrived promptly, anxious about why Peter had demanded his presence. Peter greeted him and escorted him over to Sylar who was still strapped to his chair. "I'm going to have Sylar attempt to take your ability…"

Alarric stepped back, furious and said, "No!"

"Alarric, he's powerless, except for this and we need to see if he still has full control over it. Please. I wouldn't put you at risk if I thought there was any, you know that."

Sylar on the other hand, wished he had picked a better subject for this experiment. He didn't know if he was going to be able to empathize with Alarric after knowing how he had treated Catherine. The only thing he could possibly use was when Alarric had found out about him and Catherine. It must have been difficult for Alarric to see the vision of the two of them having sex when he still obviously had feelings for her. He knew how crushed he would be himself if he where to experience that.

Peter removed his restraints and Sylar stood up. He towered over Alarric, intimidating him. Sylar put a hand on Alarric's shoulder and concentrated on the thought he had chosen. Then he felt the tingling sensation of Alarric's ability flowing into his body. His mind studying and absorbing the information needed to use it properly. It was strange because he had already learned it before, but it was new all over again. The temptation to bring his hand over to Alarric's neck and squeeze the life out of him was strong. The feeling of power and satisfaction he would have, ending Alarric's pathetic existence delighted him. His pulse became elevated and he gripped Alarric's shoulder with growing strength.

Finally, he let go. "I have it." He sat back down, out of breath and starring at the floor. His thoughts were racing as he was trying to gain control of his sanity again.

"Let's test it out." Peter said. "Do you have anything personal in here we could use?" He asked Mohinder.

Mohinder looked over at his personal work area, his desk and files. There, among some framed pictures, was a lopsided mug with a handle that was too small that he used as a pencil holder. He dumped out the contents and handed it to Sylar, eager to see if he could read any history from it.

Sylar warily took the poorly made piece of pottery and held it firmly in his hands. He closed his eyes for what only seemed like seconds. "You have a child, a son." He said looking up at Mohinder. "He made this for you, with his mother's help, for your birthday. They sent it to you from India just recently. He asked her why you don't live with them anymore." He held the mug up to him.

Mohinder took it and asked, "What did she tell him?"

"She told him that your work keeps you very busy, but that you wish you could spend more time with him."

"Well, looks like you were right." Peter said to Mohinder who was in a daze looking at the mug in his hand.

"Yes, I know." He said in an almost pompous manner putting the mug back on his desk.

Angela stood in the background with her hand on her chest. She drew a deep breath threw her nose as she looked at Sylar. His head was cocked slightly to the side while looking down at his lap. He looked up at her slowly with only his eyes. She pulled her gaze away from him for a moment. He chilled her to the bone with his stare. She glanced back at him and his eyes were still fixed on her, like he was trying to bore into her soul. She turned and walked out of the lab, she could feel his eyes following her out. No one else seemed to notice Sylar's intimidation over her.

Sylar sat in his holding room looking at his watch, knowing exactly what needed to be done to get it working again. He thought about his mother. The way her murder played out at the time. It was an accident, but he had wanted her dead before that. He had thought about it before he was Sylar. He had tried to bury this fact deep into the back of his mind time and time again, but he couldn't any longer. He had killed his mother and he had wanted to, just like all the others that came after her. But now, he wished he hadn't. She was the only woman that had ever truly loved him before Catherine and he missed her. He thought about the man he was before Sylar. Introverted, depressed, awkward, timid, lonely. Then he thought about the man he became after he discovered power. Obsessed, malevolent, apathetic, cruel, but still lonely. The thought of both of his former selves sickened him.

But, who was he now? It seemed he was both. It was always going to be a constant struggle between madness and stability. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He could accept this, he just hoped that Catherine could.

Peter and Noah walked into his room. "We've decided to let you go." Peter said.

Sylar looked from Peter to Noah with speculation. "We can't keep you here, it will cost us money." Peter explain further. "Mohinder is at a loss with the project and is ready to go back home to his family. You've proven for the past five months or so that you can control your temptations."

"However, we're going to need you to fill out and sign some forms." Noah said as he handed him the papers.

Sylar snatched the papers from his hand and began to flip through them. "So, I'm not a totally free man." Sylar read that they wanted him to be on a criminal/patient registry. They would be watching him from time to time, making sure he was being a good boy. He supposed it wasn't completely unreasonable. He took the pen from Noah's offering hand. He didn't have a place to live, so he put his place of employment down as his address for the time being. He was fairly confident Otis would welcome him back, being he was also a reformed criminal.

They waited for Sylar to finish filling out the forms. He had to sign an agreement to update his information regularly, so that he could be easily located. He handed Noah the papers.

"Now, can I get the fuck out of here, please?" He asked through clenched teeth.

* * *

**There is only one more chapter after this. Hope you hang on until the end.**


	14. At Least For Now

At Least For Now

Luckily when they gave Gabriel back his keys and wallet he had some money for cab fare, but he still had to walk several miles. He really needed to find someone with the ability of flight or maybe he would run into Edgar again soon.

It was 4:30 am when he finally made it to Warman's Pawn Shop. It was closed. He tried his key. It still worked so he let himself in. He had no apartment anymore, so he hoped Otis would let him stay at the shop for a while until he found a place to live. He sat down at his work bench in the back and wasn't surprised to see that Otis had left everything just the way he had left it.

He pulled out the Sylar watch and started taking it apart. With lack of sleep and the worries weighing on his mind, he was handling things a bit clumsily. A small piece from the watch rolled off the bench, bounced off his knee and into the trash can. He reached his hand into the space where it landed, cutting his palm on the meaty part just under his thumb, on what he assumed was a broken iced tea bottle. Yanking his hand back out from the trash can, he saw the blood oozing from the rough gouge. It was strange to continue to bleed, not to see his flesh seal itself shut, leaving only flawless skin behind. He got the first aid kit and bandaged himself up.

After safely finding the valuable part to the watch he needed, he made the repairs and adjustments to it, replaced the crystal to the face and placed in gently back into the wooden box. He packed it up to send to Catherine. He wasn't sure how she would feel about seeing him again and he wanted to let her know he was free and alive without having to impose on her. He knew there was a chance she might not want to be involved with him anymore. After all, he was a logical man. However, he wasn't always an agreeable man. Just because he understood it didn't mean he would except it.

A short, fat, balding man who was in his early sixties unlocked and opened the shop door. Gabriel sat quietly at his bench with his lamp still on. The man walked into the back and stopped in front of Gabriel's bench.

"Ya didn't open the place." Otis grumbled in his deep raspy voice and continued walking past him.

"I didn't know if I was still employed." Gabriel said.

"Your key worked didn't it? Should' a been your first clue." Otis sat down at his desk and lit a cigarette. "Well, get goin'. I ain't payin' ya to sit 'round an tinker all day."

Gabriel got to his feet to open the shop and begin his day of work.

Otis didn't know the extent of Gabriel's crimes but knew he had a criminal history. The same was true for Gabriel of Otis. They had respect for one another and didn't ask any questions. When Gabriel didn't show up for work one day, Otis assumed that he might just see him again and when he did, he would welcome him back.

The day went as a normal one would. Otis stayed to close up so Gabriel could locate the storage unit where Peter had transferred his belongings. He grabbed some clothes and blankets, bought some toiletries, then headed back to the shop where Otis had set up a cot for him. It was going to be a long night.

Catherine was hanging on a thread of hope that Gabriel would be coming back. She met Edgar for dinner after work, it had become a routine on Friday nights. Although they had remained close, they never slept together again after that one slightly awkward night.

She checked her mail, as she usually did when she got home. She found a small package jammed into the box. She saw that the return address had the Warman's Pawn Shop logo. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized Gabriel's unique left handed scroll across the package.

She hurried inside. She dropped her things on the floor, plopped on the sofa and began to rip the tape off the package. She knew the wooden box all to well. She lifted the lid and there was the watch. Only, to her surprise, it was fixed, almost like new.

She noticed a small piece of paper folded into a long skinny rectangle so that it would fit neatly inside the box. She unfolded it to see Gabriel's writing once again. It read, "I don't need to be reminded of who I am anymore." She turned the paper over, looking for more. There was nothing else. No phone number, no request to see her, no explanation of what the hell he meant by sending her the watch. She was disappointed, hurt and confused. She tossed the watch on the trunk in front of the sofa. She looked up at her grandmother's clock. She touched her bare neck remembering she still had never found the necklace.

After sitting in puzzled silence for a while she picked the watch back up and buckled it onto her wrist. She watched the second hand skip its way around the face. It was a quarter to nine.

"Fuck it." She said to herself. "That bastard owes me an explanation."

She knew the pawn shop would be closing at nine and it was within walking distance. If she left now she would catch him right as they were closing.

When she got there the sign had already been turned over to read "closed." She looked at the watch. It was nine on the dot. Seeing lights on in the back, she tapped on the glass. No movement. She knocked harder this time. Finally, Otis started waddling his way to the door. He unlocked the door and opened it a few inches.

"Sign says we're closed. We'll be open tomorrow at…" He paused, recognizing her face. "Hi Catherine." He opened to door inviting her inside. "He's in the back."

"Thanks, Otis." She said stepping inside.

She walked reluctantly towards the back and came to a halt when she saw him at his bench working intently on a music box. He hadn't shaved in what appeared to be four or five days and his hair was shorter then usual. But, he looked well and handsome none the less. He glanced up at her. He froze momentarily and then set down the tiny instrument he was using and rose to his feet.

Feeling the tension in the room, Otis went over to his desk to grab a few things. "I'll see ya tomorrow." He mumbled and left locking the door behind him.

Neither of them spoke or moved. They just stood, gazing at each other with apprehension. Gabriel made a move toward her, extending his hand to touch her. She took his hand seeing the bandage. She peeled the gauze away revealing the gash underneath.

"They did it." She said, amazed by the accomplishment. "Did they take them all?"

"All but my own." She assumed that meant he could still collect abilities. She didn't want to pester him with questions about his ordeal so soon.

His fingers traced the contours of her face before leaning in to lavish her mouth with gentle kisses. He paused, for what reason Catherine didn't know. She looked into his eyes, "Don't stop."

He kissed her yearningly, as if he wanted to devour her. They were so clumsy removing each others clothes, they almost tumbled to the floor in their haste. Taking Catherine by the waste, he sat down in his chair, guiding her into his lap. She straddled him and draped her arms over his shoulders.

He let out his breath as she started to move around him. It had been so long, he wasn't sure how long he would last. She nibbled on his ear and he thought he might boil over. He would need to do his best to contain his eagerness.

"I missed you." She whispered, drinking in the scent of his skin and hair. It was intoxicating.

He said nothing, but began to grope her more desperately, relishing the delicate curves of her body. He adored her.

"Did you think of me?" She asked.

He pulled his mouth away from her neck, "Everyday." he said, then continued to taste her flesh. "Do you love me?" She asked.

He halted his advances and looked up at her. "With all that I am."

"Then tell me you love me." The words had never escaped his lips.

"Catherine, I've never loved another woman the way that I love you." He said to her. In all honesty, except his mother, he had never truly loved anyone.

They made love twice, it was almost necessary. They had passion, the heat between them was undeniable. There was such strength in their connection.

They returned to her apartment that night hoping for a restful sleep. At least for Gabriel, who hadn't had a decent night's sleep in almost half a year. Catherine laid on her side with Gabriel fitting against the curves of her position behind her. His hand slid around her neck. "Where's your necklace?" He asked her.

She closed her eyes not wanting to tell him. "I lost it." She grumbled.

"Well, that's disappointing." He said, kissing her head.

"Yes, it is." She replied. "So, why didn't they take your ability?" She was curious, of course.

He told her, as briefly as he could, about his experience at Safe Haven, explaining how he had recollected clairsentience from Alarric and could continue to collect abilities if he wished.

"Wow. It must have been torture." She said.

"I guess," he said thoughtfully, "but maybe it was deserved."

They were silent for a while, and she felt Gabriel's body twitch as he fell into his slumber.

"I love you, too." She said quietly, in response to his earlier confession.

In the morning after breakfast, Gabriel was shaving off what was close to a full beard while Catherine was finishing her shower.

"Damn drain!" She complained as her feet sloshed around in the ankle high water of the tub.

She stepped out of the shower drying herself off. Her first thought about having the drain fixed was of Edgar, out of habit. "I guess I'll call maintenance on Monday." She said, rethinking her options.

"I'll fix it, then we don't have to wait two days." Gabriel said.

She kissed his smooth, clean shaven cheek.

Catherine went for a quick trip to the grocery store while Gabriel set to work on the drain. It was only clogged, which he had suspected. He snaked the drain pulling out a glob of Catherine's long, thick hair. He was amazed she wasn't bald with all the hair she shed.

As he went to drop the hair into the trash can, he noticed something sparkle. He looked closer and saw the gold chain. He pulled the lost necklace out of the matted mess. It was a bit dirty, but undamaged. He gently cleaned it off. He held it up to admire his finding and an image flashed in his mind. He shut his eyes and concentrated, watching the whole incident with Edgar unfold behind his eyelids. He closed his fist around the pendent, squeezing it in frustration. He now knew first hand the emotion that Alarric had experienced. The pendent pierced his skin and unknowingly he began to bleed. A thin red stream trickled out from his fist, down his forearm and dripped off his elbow onto the floor.

Catherine came through the door, dropping the bags in the kitchen as she yelled, "How's it going in there?"

Gabriel opened his bloodshot eyes, blinking away the approaching tears.

She stuck her head into the bathroom. "How's it…" She stopped short when she saw him washing up his arm.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"Nothing happened, it's fine." He spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Let me see." She said, pulling his hand toward her. He snatched it out of her grasp.

"I said it's fine!" He snapped.

She looked at him, offended by his action. "It was only clogged." He said and handed her the necklace. "I found this in the drain."

He wiped his hands dry and walked out, leaving her to contemplate the necklace. She suddenly felt ill, remembering he had relearned Alarric's ability.

"Gabriel," she followed him into the living room where he was putting his shoes on. "Gabriel, talk to me."

"I don't feel like talking right now." He stood, stuffing his wallet into his back pocket.

"It was just the one time, it didn't mean anything." She said in desperation as he stepped around her. "I didn't know if I was going to ever see you again…"

He grabbed her by her arms and shook her with a jolt. "You really should stop talking, Catherine." He warned her.

Her eyes sparkled with tears. "Please, don't leave me again."

"I'm not leaving you." He said reaching for his keys. "I just need to cool off." And then he left, pulling the door shut hard behind him.

He walked to the little twenty four hour diner a few blocks away. He ordered a strong, black coffee. He knew he was right to leave, he never would have gotten his temper under control if he'd tried to talk with Catherine right then.

He considered how she had looked past his gruesome past and forgave him for the things he had done. He also acknowledged that she was lonely, and aching. She needed someone to fill the void, he got that. But, it still burned him. He would forgive her, he already had. However, he was sure he would not be able to give Edgar the same reprieve.

When he arrived back at Catherine's, the smell of fresh, homemade brownies was heavy in the air. Gabriel had a sweet tooth and brownies were a favorite. She was doing everything she could to alter his mood. The necklace was laying on the kitchen table. She stood with her arms crossed, chewing her bottom lip, waiting for him speak. He picked up the necklace and unclasped it. He draped it around her neck, closed the clasp and lifted her hair out from under the chain.

"What's done is done. It's in the past." He said as he hugged her tight.

Catherine breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

He let her go and walked over to the brownies that where still cooling in the pan. He cut out a square and picked it up. It was so warm that it was bending in his fingers. "I'm really looking forward to living a normal life." At least, for now anyway. He knew his hunger for power and lust for blood might not allow him very much 'normal'. Only time would tell.

* * *

**This is not the end of the story but the end of Part 1. I am currently working on the second part. You know Sylar won't let things go that easy. *wink* I hope you enjoyed this first half and everyone have a safe and happy holiday season. I'll see you soon.**


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